Speaker 1: The cobbled climbs of Belgium is cycling history. They are super steep, short,
punchy and well, they're covered in brutal cobbles. The pros can make them look easy,
but they can be notoriously difficult to ride. We thought we'd come up with some top tips
to help you conquer those cobbled climbs like Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara, and even the
great Eddy Merckx himself. [music]
Speaker 1: I'm in the wrong gear. Now I've lost it. I was in the wrong gear there. A
good tip for riding a cobbled climb is to try to get in the right gear before you're
actually on the climb. It can be really tricky to change gear on a cobbled climb. You're
bouncing all over the place, and it's so steep, your cadence just drops so dramatically. When
you come to stop, it's just so hard to get going again.
Do yourself a favor, get in the right gear before you start the climb, and it'll go a
lot more smoothly. Let's try that one again. That's much easier. Allez, allez, allez. Come
on, full back to the top. [music]
Speaker 1: Now, don't be afraid to ride in the gutter when you're riding a cobbled climb.
You're not wimping out of anything, the pros do this all the time, and it's often quite
a big fight to get into that gutter when you're in a race. It's obviously a lot smoother,
therefore you can go faster but you do have to be careful. Try to ride in the middle of
the gutter and when your exiting it onto the cobbles, be careful of that lip on the cobbles
because it can cut you out. Now, also race organizers can be quite cruel,
placing barriers on the gutter to stop the pros going into it, forcing them onto the
hard rough cobbles. [music]
Speaker 1: Now, you want to be careful in getting out of the saddle on a cobbled climb.
If you put your weight too far forward, it's easy to slip and lose grip. You want to put
your weight backwards over the saddle putting the weight down on your back wheel. It will
give you more grip on the cobbles, keeping you in control, keeping that power on the
pedals and moving you forward as fast as you can.
[music] Speaker 1: It's just got too much for me that
time. These cobbled climbs are so difficult to ride, they're really tough actually. If
it does get too much for you, you have a mechanic on the climb and you need [inaudible 00:02:43]
, don't be afraid to just run the rest of it. Pick your bike up, put it on your shoulder,
and just run your way to the top. The pros do it all the time.
If you're stuck behind a crash and you can't get going again, it's really hard actually
to get going again on a cobbled climb. It's just so steep and it's hard to build your
momentum, to [inaudible 00:03:00] back in, so don't be afraid, just pick your bike up
and run. [music]
Speaker 1: Now, when riding cobbled climbs, you really want to try to pick your line up
the climb. You want to look for where the cobbles are most uniform where you can really
pick the best way up, where you're smoothest, and you can get the most grip. You want to
try to avoid the places where the cobbles are really broken. Where's there's jagged
edges to the cobbles that are sticking up. If they're cut and broken by any sort of storms
or cars, this will really make it hard to get the grip on the cobbles and you'll struggle
for traction, potentially bring yourself to a hold, but also reducing your speed and making
that climb up that much harder. You also want to avoid any muddy patches and damp patches
as this is another place where it's really hard to get the grip on the cobbles you need
to conquer the climb in the best way possible. [music]
Speaker 1: Smooth is fast, [inaudible 00:03:57] those rough cobbles. Now, when you attempt
any cobbled climb, I think the best approach is just to give it your biggest effort from
the bottom to the top. If you lose any speed on the climb, it can be quite hard to regain
that speed and get going again, so the best method is just to attack it. Just go as hard
as you can, keep your speed, and maintain it to the top.
It's going to hurt no matter what, so you may as well just give it all you've got.
[music] Speaker 1: Now, at the top of a climb, it
can be easy to relax. You're so tired, you just conquered a massive cobbled climb, but
don't relax, [inaudible 00:04:37] to speed quickly. This is one of my favorite corners
in cycling, this. I'm going to sprint, come on. Back up to speed.
[music] Speaker 1: Now, personally I would advise
against descending down a cobbled climb. It's just so tricky and quite dangerous. Even in
the pro races now, you see race organizers stopping taking the race down cobbled descents.
Look at the big one-day classic [inaudible 00:05:03] , they took the descent of [inaudible
00:05:06] out of the race because it was just too dangerous and riders were crashing too
much. They actually made their own roads go round the descent, which was paved. Anyway,
if you are finding yourself on a cobbled descent, just exert some caution. Be careful on the
brakes, don't go too fast, and put your weight back behind the saddle. Just take it easy.
[music] Speaker 1: These [inaudible 00:05:32] are
just so steep. Now, I hope this video has helped you get up those cobbled climbs. I
just love the climbs of Belgium, especially the cobbled ones. There's just so much history
here. Tell you what, my legs are hurting and I think I need to find a Belgian beer to help
soothe the pain. Now, if you enjoyed this video, don't forget to give it a like, and
please let us know what's your favorite cobbled climb. Let us know in the comments section
below. To get up the cobbles without slipping-- That
was a really good one. Go on, you can do it. It's steep on this part. Only halfway.
[00:06:16] [END OF AUDIO]