Hit the hills!
Hit the hills!
To practice your out of the saddle climbing technique on tougher gradients, first choose a moderately steep local climb lasting around one to two minutes that enables you to complete the climb without dropping your cadence too much and beginning to get bogged down near the top.
The steeper ramps of the Etape will include sections at around ten to twelve percent so this sort of gradient is perfect. Roll up to the start of the climb in a high gear and as soon as you hit the climb get out the saddle, making sure you keep pressure on the pedals as you rise out the saddle. If you pause your pedalling as you get out the saddle on a steep climb that momentary deceleration could mean riders behind ride into the back of you – not a way to make friends in the peloton!
Once you’re out of the saddle, focus on pushing down on the pedals, pulling gently on the handlebars with slightly bent arms (holding the brake lever hoods) and letting the bike sway slightly underneath you by keeping your upper body relaxed.
Getting out of the saddle will naturally move your body forwards, and on less grippy or wet road surfaces this can lead to a loss of traction at the back wheel and wheel spin, especially when putting out a lot of power on a steep climb. To counteract this try to ensure you are putting a bit more weight on the back wheel. Efficient out the saddle climbing requires co-ordination of several upper and lower body muscle groups so may not come naturally to everyone. The additional muscles used when climbing out the saddle can fatigue you more rapidly than in the saddle climbing so shift gear if needed before you drop your cadence too much and if you can’t maintain good form for the whole climb it’s OK to sit back down.
Try including a session of hill reps in your riding each week, consisting of 4-5 reps, either of the same climb or several different ones if you’re lucky enough to have plenty to choose from to make it a bit more interesting. After a few weeks of these sessions your fitness, co-ordination and technique will improve and you should become much more comfortable out of the saddle, so now it’s time to integrate the two techniques: climbing seated and out of the saddle.
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