Rollers

You’ll go fastest on rolling terrain if you maintain your gearing and cadence as much as possible.

Gearing
Stay in the gear in which you began climbing for as long as possible. Shift down only to keep your cadence steady. When you can see over the crest, shift up a gear to power over the top.

Cadence
Try to spin at 70 to 90 rpm. If you drop too low, you’ll get bogged down; but if you go too high, you’ll unnecessarily lose momentum.

Effort
Attack the bottom of the roller at the same intensity as on the flats–but gradually increase the effort as you ascend. The ensuing descent lets you recover while maintaining speed.

Body Position
Keep your hands on the hoods just as you would on the flats. Remain seated until your cadence drops by about five rpm, then stand; don’t shift until your standing cadence drops another five rpm.

Additional Tip:
Training? Use rollers as unstructured intervals. Pushing to the limit on one roller only to have to recover quickly for another will give you the ability to respond to attacks or put in your own double kick.

READ MORE ON: hills Skills