Training for the mountains

Why a flat TT could be better than Box Hill, writes James Beaumont.

I grew up on images on Dutchmen winning the Tour de France's King of the Mountains jersey. Proof perhaps that you don't need to live at the foot of a first category climb in order to excel in the high mountains. Since we don't have any hills to train on in England, what can we do to make riding in the mountains easier?

First of all, it helps to think what climbing a long col, or mountain pass, means. Even elite riders take over an hour to climb some alpine ascents and this means it is about riding at a steady and sustainable pace, it is never a sprint. It helps to think what makes climbing hard: gradient and speed. First, the gradient means you can't sit up for a moment and freewheel - you'll go backwards - and there's no chance to rest for a second as every pedal stroke is under load. Second, the speed is slower so there's little aerodynamic benefit from following someone's wheel: you're on your own. So a typical alpine pass means a one hour effort powering on the pedals without shelter from another rider. Sounds to me like a 25 mile TT, no?

So for those of us unable to include Alpe d'Huez on our training loop is a flat, windswept TT course the next best thing? Although both TTs and mountains tend to make you ride with a lower cadence, in a TT you can rely on momentum to help you push a big gear, whereas when climbing, you're using a low gear and every pedal stroke counts. If you want to use TTs as part of your preparation, one way to maximise their benefit is to up your cadence so that you don't develop a heavy pedalling style.

But whilst there is a difference in pedaling technique, the effort on your cardiovascular system is similar. So if you want to be better on the long climbs, think about doing some hard efforts that last 20 minutes or more. It's best to pick a flat or rolling route since this means you can keep a constant effort going instead of having a lot of descents where inevitably you can't push it as hard, you want something where you can ride consistently hard without a break. An ideal training route would three hard laps of Richmond Park or tackling the A25 between Guildford and Dorking at a full-on pace. Or use a turbo trainer if it suits you. A sustained and long effort like this should bring more rewards than climbing Box Hill 10 times since you will be putting your body under strain for an hour at a time and not just in short six minute sprints with plenty of recovery/ descending in between.

What other things can you do? Saving weight helps, whether from your bike or from your waistline. It's more important to shed body fat than weight from your bike, as those extra kilos of mass on your body compete for oxygen with your muscles. So lose weight and your V02 max should increase slightly. Either way, estimates suggest that saving one kilogram will save you 40-45 seconds on a climb like Alpe d'Huez, so buying weight weenie parts is helpful but it won't transform your riding.

One area where kit can help is to buy right gears. The ratios which are fine for Surrey will probably not be low enough for the mountains. If you don't know what gears you'll need, then go for as low as possible, 39x29 or get a compact or triple chainset and use a 12-25 cassette on the back. Too often people think about what the lowest gear they can get away with, instead of choosing what will be comfortable. Just because some King of the Mountain uses 39x23, don't assume you'll be ok with 39x25. Instead, think about the gear you'd need into a headwind, when you're on a bad day and have run out of energy and you're on the steepest part of the climb, this is exactly what you're lowest gear is for!

Local knowledge helps, knowing what's coming up ahead can help you to decide between sprinting for that crest or saving yourself for the false flat ahead. Technique helps too, try to turn your legs on the descents to keep the blood flowing and your muscles warm otherwise you risk starting the next climb with wooden legs. Similarly, at the start of a major climb, resist any temptation to ride hard even if others are going for it. Try to give yourself a minute or two to get into the climb and if, say, the gradient's 10%, then go straight away to an appropriate gear, don't honk out of the saddle trying to carry your momentum because this won't last long and you'll pay for it.

All the while, remember that when climbing you are racing or riding as normal too. So don't let the mountains make you forget to eat and drink, in fact you need to eat and drink more to compensate for the extra effort but often the change of environment means it's easy to forget the basics.

Make sure you're ready for the weather too. It can snow still in July at altitude so check the forecast before setting off. And on a hot day, if you're climbing for an hour at your threshold those watts mean heat yet the gradient means a slow speed and so little air flowing over you to cool you. If you suffer when it gets hot, cool yourself by spraying your head and neck with water but don't douse the rest of you, it will actually stop your kit from wicking the sweat.

Finally, cycling doesn't get much better than riding in the high mountains on a warm sunny day. So think about preparing a bit for your visit to the mountains. But above all, when you are there, take the time to look around, to take in the views and to look for all those places, signs and even statues which bear tribute to the legends of our sport.

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Training for the mountains