James says: “This session is perfect when training for a sportive with lots of short sharp climbs. This session would be perfect, for example, when training to ride the Tour of Flanders sportive, or a UK sportive with similar climbs in quick succession. When climbing such famous climbs as the Koppenburg and Paterberg you have no choice but to go hard from bottom to top.

“Therefore the goal of this session is not only to increase your five-minute power but also to improve your ability to recover between efforts. If you are using a power meter you should aim for no more than an eight per cent drop in power between the first and the last effort.”

The training session – 5×5 minute hill repeats

Twenty minutes warm-up – a slow progression from zone one, through zone two, with the last five minutes in zone three.

Five minutes easy (zone one/two)

5×5 minute hill efforts (zone five). Five minutes recovery between efforts – recommend descending the hill, go a few hundred metres past your start point then turn around and ride back ready to start the next effort

Ten minutes cool down (zone one)