scandinavianguy wrote:
Howdy, curious about the collective opinion on how to become a good climber for tris specifically. Are there differences in training approaches, or is the difference entirely in execution on race day, holding the right IF to save the legs for the run, equipment choice etc?
I am doing Mallorca 70.3 next May, which isnt super hilly but has 1000 m of climbing in total with a few 5% sections and some hairpin turns on the descent. I have been away from tri since 2016, only running marathons, so basically need to rebuild bike fitness from scratch. Previously done mostly flat Ironmans, Barcelona, Florida etc, so this is a new challenge. Description of course profile:
https://www.cyclinglocations.com/ironman-70-3-mallorca-bike-course/
Where I live the longest sustained ascents are a couple of hills at around 2km/ with 100m elevation, so could start doing runs of those to collect elevation metres.
Thanks for any advice.
The best way to prepare for hills is to ride on hills. I think it's a pretty good way to prepare for the flat too!
However, I think a trainer can also be used to provide a heavily loaded pedal revolution which can't be achieved on the flat since inertia allows pedaling styles that are more problematic on climbs. Of course the trainer won't simulate the bike angle (unless you have a Climb accessory or something under the front wheel) or handling during fast descents.
If you have a 2km hill that rises 100m, that's 5%. Not very steep but steep enough and long enough to be reasonably useful. Also from what you say the gradient is comparable to sections of the race.
I'd consider doing some hill repeats on those if you think hill practice would be beneficial, it's not going to do any harm! It'll take you several minutes to get up those which is enough to start settling into a rhythm. Assuming you've already got a bit of bike fitness pacing on climbs is probably most important thing to get right.
I think most people who struggle with hills have one or more of three fundamental problems:
- Inadequate fitness for steep climbs
- Pacing
- Inappropriate gearing
1. This unlikely to apply to anyone on ST. Even pretty modest fitness is sufficient to get you up a 20% slope so long as you have generously small gears and you're not very overweight. The limit occurs when you are going so slow that you can't keep your balance. Up until that point it's just about gearing.
2. This is a big one. I think lots of people who are unused to hills, feel like they're going too slow when they start climbing and start to push too hard and get the climb over with. Then they blow up before the top, or just fry their legs for later. You should put a little more effort in on the climbs and recover a bit on the descents as opposed to a constant effort for the whole ride, but the variation should be reasonably modest or it will become counterproductive. If I was cruising at 200W on the flat I might allow myself rise to say 230W on sustained climbs and 270W for very short steep ramps but that's about it. Pacing is probably the biggest single benefit of being familiar with climbing. A power meter or HR monitor are incredibly useful for this too!
3. Err on the side of excessive gear range. If you think a 25T is enough on the back but you're not sure, put on a 27, or 28T. If you think a 28T is sufficient but you're not sure, consider a 32T just in case. I did the Marmotte Des Alpes a couple of years ago and reckoned a 28T on the back would be sufficient but I wasn't sure. So I got a mid length derailleur cage to replace the short one and got a 32T. I'm not sure if I ever used it during the ride, I don't think so, but it was worth having and I've used it since. There's not much downside when you've got 11 sprockets to play with.