CYCLEFILM'S Sportive Survival Guide - Climbing
Learn how to climb more efficiently in this special masterclass hosted by top UK cyclist and Sportive Specialist Michael Cotty. The full Guide is available as part of the Bonus Features of Cyclefilm's "The Trilogy" and "The Road to Hautacam" at http://www.cyclefilm.com/trilogy.html
Step 1: Introduction
Here we are for the Sportive Survival Guide. We're actually going to be looking at some techniques on climbing and descending. Unless you're fortunate enough to actually live in the mountains, you're probably going to be faced with a few bits of terrain which are very very different to what you're used to riding, so we're going. Here we are for the Sportive Survival Guide. We're actually going to be looking at some techniques on climbing and descending. Unless you're fortunate enough to actually live in the mountains, you're probably going to be faced with a few bits of terrain which are very very different to what you're used to riding, so we're going to do our best just to give you some hints and tips on getting over the mountains, in it's best conditions, and hopefully you'll enjoy the descents as well.
Step 2: Pointers
Riding in the mountains is, is really all about technique, staying relaxed, and being efficient, but what you've got to remember is that there's no one technique which is going to work for every rider, so it, it is a little bit of experimentation, but really there isn't a right or wrong, it's what really works for the rider. Everyone's different, everyone feels more comfortable at different positions, and really, efficiency comes in the rider, it doesn't come in a technique or a look.
Step 3: Stay Relaxed
One of the key things to remember on any climb is to try and stay relaxed. The more relaxed you are, you're going to be wasting less energy, you're not going to be as tense, and in the long run if you've got multiple mountains to climb, you're going to feel in a lot better shape.
Step 4: Technique
You can see here, just sat in the saddle, the gradient's not too steep at the moment, so you keep a high cadence, hands are gently resting on top of the handlebars, they're barely gripping the handlebars; again, just trying to stay nice and relaxed. It's always important, there we've got the cadence again. I try to climb, if I can, around 90 rpm; obviously when the gradient gets steeper, then that's going to shift down, but wherever possible try to stay over the gear, and keep the legs really turning smoothly.
Step 5: Body Positioning
You can see my arms there are slightly bent, that's also used for a bit of shock absorption, so if you do happen to hit some rough tarmac, your arms aren't completely locked out and all that force is going to go into your upper body. You can see the difference in the position which I'm holding on the road bike to the chap in the background, he's got the arms really locked out there. It's just a technique which is worth bearing in mind, try and get your bike set up correct so that you're nice and sort of loose on the top of the bike, upper body's nice and relaxed.
Step 6: Shifting Weight
Now it's not going to be possible to stay in the seat in position all the time, and likewise with the hands on the tops of the handlebars, so if you need a bit of extra leverage you may need to shift your hands like I've got here just onto the hoods. This is a slightly steeper section; you can see how my cadence there has slowed quite a lot; pushing the body weight forward, maintaining traction; leaning forward, leaning into the bend; the hoods on the top really just to use sort of use that extra leverage because I'm pulling up on the pedals moreso than pulling up on the handlebars there. I always have my bike set up so that when I'm in that positon, you can see that my arms are at 90 degrees; it's just a comfortable position that is worth sort of experimenting and finding out what works for the individual.
Step 7: Seating Positions
I'm sort of shifting from a seated position here to a standing position, depending on the part of the climb. As I say, generally on the steeper sections, you see I'm out of the saddle and actually using my upper body more to propel me forward as well. My sort of riding style, that's really benefitted me just from the experience which I've had climbing mountains, but if you've got the power, and the legs and the lower back just to sit in the saddle, then that's a great technique to have as well.
Step 8: Hairpin Bends
The hardest part of most climbs is when you hit hairpin bends. The inner part of the bend is generally the steepest. If I'm looking at trying to recover a little bit then I'll probably ride the outside of the bend, outside of the hairpin, which is flatter, slightly less gradient. If I'm looking, if I'm sort of on-ball and feeling good then I'll probably be out of my saddle and power my way through the inside of the bend which, as I said, is the hardest section, so you really need to be out of the saddle, like I am here, and mover yourself through that corner, and it's amazing by that sort of aggressively how quickly you can get a gap on someone and how quickly you can get away from a group or power away from riders on a climb. So there's two different techniques, you can almost recover on sections like that because it is flatter, but if you are feeling like you want to get away from riders, then try and ride the inside of the bend, try to power your way up it. Even if you only put the power on for the 20 seconds through that bend, you will notice a big gap open up from the riders around you.
Step 9: Enjoy
I think one of the most important things with climbing the mountain is, despite probably the pain which you are going to be suffering which the mountains always induce, is take some time and actually enjoy the scenery; you can look out. I'm foolish enough not to be looking over my right-hand shoulder here, at the absolutely spectatular scenery. So whatever technique you're emplying to get up these climbs, just make sure you actually enjoy it for what it is, because it's truly stunning and inspirational when you're out in the mountains.
Step 10: Summary
So, as a summary, if I can give some advice and some handy hints, I'd say: stay relaxed and keep your upper body relaxed; decide on a technique which works best for you, it could be sat in the saddle if you've got the power and the lower back's pretty strong, for you to power your way all the way up the climb, for me I spend a lot of the time out of the saddle, but I would probably say that a mixture of the two will be good, because you can change your position on the bike, and you can give certain muscles a rest, and certain muscles can come into play to power you up the climb, so work on a technique, there's no hard and fast technique which is going to be the optimum way of climbing a mountain; just experiment, work on something that is going to be good for you; stay relaxed, keep your cadence nice and high, stay over the gear, as soon as you start, the gear gets on top of you, that's when you can start to really suffer; and really, the bottom line is, go and enjoy, climbing's definitely a big part of any big event, like the Sportive, so embrace it and go out there and enjoy the climb and the scenery, and after all that hard work you're going to have a beautiful descent. So enjoy.
