How to Climb up a Really, Really Steep Hill

5 secrets to conquering the toughest climbs.


James Stout |

5 secrets to conquering the toughest climbs. – By James Stout

climb

We’ve all been there: You look up at a road that appears as a wall in front of your bike and have to “paper boy” from side to side to reduce the gradient. Your legs feel more like you’re squatting weights than pushing pedals. Then, as you reach the top of the pedal stroke, you realise that you aren’t quite going to make it and have to unclip in ignominy.Steep hills are one of the toughest parts of cycling, and many of us plan routes to avoid them. However, with some practice and proper technique, you can make it up climbs that look near-vertical to the untrained eye. We caught up with Hanna Muegge, the winner of this year’s inaugural Red Bull Bay Climb in San Francisco, to get her tips on how to tackle steep hills. In the Bay Climb, fixed gear and freewheel racers conquer grades of up to 21 per cent, and the winner of each heat progresses to the next round until a champion is crowned.RELATED: Your Comprehensive Guide to Faster ClimbingMuegge got a lot of steep climbing practice in on her way to the win (she likely enjoyed rocketing back down those hills as well). Although she had a few tips that only apply to Bay Climb racers (like leaving her water bottles at the base of each hill) there is a lot we can all learn about steep climbing from one of the best in the business. Here are her tips:

1. Train on hills

Muegge prepared for the event with lunchtime hill intervals and used her local Strava segments, as well as hilly Northern California road races, to inject some variety and intensity. This allowed her to work the specific muscle groups and movements associated with climbing. Those who live in flat areas can train in larger gears, or on an indoor trainer like the Wahoo Kickr Climb, to simulate climbing. Muegge trains with a power meter; through experiences on similar climbs, she had a good idea of how many watts she’d be able to put out on race day.

2. Cut the weight

Every gram on your body and bike will slow you down. Muegge made an extra effort to enter the race at a competitive weight by eating a light dinner the night before and leaving accessories, like her bottles and GoPro, at the bottom of each hill. Eating a healthy and balanced diet that fuels your training and maintaining a healthy body weight will help in all aspects of cycling, but weight is especially important as the gradient increases. If you have a light bike or wheel set, you’ll really feel that difference on steep climbs.

RELATED: Why Cycling is the Best Way to Lose Weight

3. Pace your effort

It’s easy to get pumped up for a steep climb and hit the bottom so hard that you run out of energy before you run out of climb. “This is especially true when the adrenaline is pumping at exciting events, like the Red Bull Hill Bay Climb,” Muegge says. Pro racers use metrics such as VAM (a measure of your vertical ascent in metreper hour) and wattage to metre their efforts. In the absence of such data, Muegge says she used the race heats to work out the perfect pacing and gearing strategy for the final so she had ”enough gas in the tank to deliver a final kick to seal the victory.”

4. Get the right gearing

If you can’t pedal at a reasonable cadence, it is much harder to balance on a steep climb. Modern compact cranksets, combined with wide range cassettes, allow for a climbing gear that should let you stay seated on most climbs and not waste energy. Exercise physiologist Sean Burke says, “In the long run it is better to stay seated, but sometimes you just need to get out of the saddle and smash on the pedals to keep your momentum up.” But if you’re standing for the whole climb, even in your easiest gear, it’s time to consider changing your gearing.

RELATED: 6 Gearing Mistakes You’re Probably Making

5. Ride with faster people and learn to push through the pain

“When you line up for a race that has an average grade of 15 per cent you know you are in for a round of hurt,” Muegge says. The more you do rides that acclimate you to being uncomfortable, the more you’ll be able to tolerate it. You can also get gearing, shifting, and pacing tips from more experienced riders. If you can find a group of riders who can push you on the climbs, you’ll grow stronger without having to motivate yourself to really push your body to the limits. Muegge says despite her race only lasting two minutes, she “left every bit of energy” on the course. Along with her own motivation, she says the huge crowd’s energy “absolutely translated to extra power in my pedal strokes.”

RELATED: Train Your Brain to Survive the Ride

READ MORE ON: hills Skills training programmes

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