Hills can be intimidating and few of us have the natural climbing physique of Chris Froome or Alberto Contador.

The RideLondon-Surrey 100 sportive has three main climbs, Newlands Corner, Leith Hill and Box Hill, squeezed together in the middle of the route through the Surrey Hills.

Newlands Corner and Box Hill both rise at a relatively steady pitch, with an average gradient of approximately five per cent – but it’s still enough to test the legs after a few hours in the saddle.

Leith Hill, sandwich between the two, is a significantly tougher challenge, with an average gradient of eight per cent over its one mile length – and pitches significantly steeper than that, touching 16 per cent.

Unfortunately, one of the only ways to get better on hills… is to ride more hills. Don’t be intimidating by the prospect of climbing in training, and don’t avoid hills. See it as a challenge and, like base training, take things slowly. If there’s a steep local climb which forced you to put a foot down the last time you rode it, head back and try and get further up the climb. Keep going until you reach the top, or time yourself to give yourself a measurable target to beat.

Invariably climbing will put you in the red – or at least take you out of your ‘endurance zone’ when base training – and so you may need to plot a flatter route if you are to keep the intensity low throughout a ride. However, on some rides it pays to plot a hilly route to work on your climbing and top-level fitness. Head on to Strava and use the ‘segment explore’ function to find local climbs in your area.

Technique is key to climbing. Try and stay seated, though that may not be possible on steep pitches like those found on Leith Hill, and maintain a steady cadence of around 80-90rpm. On that note, make sure your bike has an appropriately low gear for your fitness level (for many riders that will mean a compact chainset). It’s also important to relax, focus on your breathing and putting power through the pedals, and don’t be drawn into racing other riders around you as you’ll likely pay for it later in the ride by putting yourself in the red.

Put all of that into practice in training and you’ll be ready come the day.