How To Pace A Climb: 3 Key Steps
Pacing is a fundamental skill that many cyclists (even experienced ones) could benefit from improving, and one domain where correct pacing is extremely important is hilly terrain. To help you improve the pacing of your climbing efforts, here are 3 basic steps to follow:
1/ Know your current fitness
This means having a clear picture of things like:
The power you can currently put out for a given duration
Your current threshold power or heart rate, so you know when you’re going into the red
Your overall endurance so you can pace both the climb and the ride as a whole
How you currently handle different pedalling techniques
Use the data you’ve collected from previous rides as well as your own intuition to inform this kind of understanding.
Now let’s look at the next step…
2/ Know the climb
This includes information like:
The distance of the climb
How long the climb is likely to take at your intended effort level
The gradient profile of the climb
3/ Combine steps 1 & 2
Once you’ve got the intel on your body’s current capabilities and the climb you’ll be tackling, the final step is to combine the two together into a pacing strategy.
Within this pacing strategy, you’re going to want to consider things like:
If you should mostly stand up on the pedals or stay seated in the saddle
Where to get into a more aerodynamic position if there are faster sections
What power or HR figure you’ll set as your target for the climb
Where to push harder and where to back off if the climb isn’t a consistent gradient
Fundamental to all of the above is going to be what type of climbing effort you’re wanting to actually do.
You might for instance want to ensure you get over a climb with as little energy expenditure as possible, such as in a long sportive for instance, whereas at the other end of the scale you might be looking to dethrone the current KOM holder with a maximal effort.
In the first scenario, a consideration of things like gear selection and cadence will be important, whereas the latter goal will benefit from even further research into the current KOM holder’s effort, including the power they produced, their power to weight ratio and their approach leading into the segment.
Additional tips
Break longer climbs down into smaller sections, concentrating mostly on completing each section at the correct predetermined intensity
Don’t white knuckle a climb unless it’s really short. You can use up precious energy by holding onto the bars too tightly or pulling excessively from side to side.
Use constant positive reinforcement as you climb, telling yourself things like you’re strong, you’ve done this kind of thing before and try think back to previous training sessions that went particularly well
Gamify the climb by seeing how tightly you can keep your power or HR within the target range, since this distraction will also help you manage the pain better
Create a dedicated screen for climbing and interval training on your head unit so that you have the right metrics in clear view. This article includes some guidance on how we recommend setting up your head unit.
Try to keep your head up and shoulders open as opposed to looking down excessively or letting the shoulders collapse in. This will help with more efficient breathing and prevent any obstruction to the airways.
Finally, don’t try anything you haven’t attempted in training for the first time if you’re shooting for a PB on a climb. This might include excessive time out of the saddle where your legs might prematurely fatigue, an extreme cadence either high or low, or any big accelerations.
