(wheels spinning on road)
(rhythmic breathing)
- [Dan, With Sunglasses] Climbing.
It's brutal.
It's painful.
But it's so incredibly satisfying.
And coming up, is all you really need to know
about riding up hills.
(techno music)
- Firstly, and most importantly, the most effective way
of riding up a climb comfortably is
to pace yourself.
Don't put yourself into the red at the beginning of a climb
with screaming lungs and burning legs,
but riding at the pace
of a snail.
- Instead, start climbs deliberately slowly.
Give yourself some time to get into a rhythm
and only at that point,
think about lifting the pace slightly.
This is very beneficial
because not only will the climbs hurt less,
you'll probably find
you'll end up going faster, too.
- [Matt Voiceover] On short climbs,
you can definitely power up them
in as much pain as you like.
But just remember
that each time you do it,
each climb you storm up,
you'll dramatically reduce your ability
to do it again in that ride.
So even little climbs might need pacing, too.
(techno music)
- It's very easy to get overwhelmed
and even confused
with the amount of advice you can find
on climbing in the saddle versus standing up on the pedals.
But the truth of the matter is,
it doesn't really matter.
A few people are more comfortable getting out of the saddle,
but the vast majority prefer to climb
staying seated.
But you can make that decision
all on your own.
- The most common way to ride
on a climb
is sat down in the saddle,
only getting out of the saddle
to alleviate the pressure
on your backside, or even to stretch your legs.
Or, to haul yourself over a steeper section
of the climb.
(techno music)
Another thing
that could over-complicate your cycling
is getting bogged down in gear selection.
- In fact, the biggest mistake you can make
in this regard is to choose something
which feels unnatural, and therefore,
makes you uncomfortable.
A lot of riders pedal quite slowly in a hard gear,
particularly if they're new to the sport.
Now that's not necessarily a bad thing,
but you might find it does feel easier
pedaling about 80 revs per minute.
Spinning faster than that
will probably require practice to do efficiently
and there's no evidence to say that it will be of benefit.
(techno music with heavy beat)
- To make climbing easy, though,
you need to practice.
And that means
riding up hills.
- It does indeed.
Yes, of course you need to be fit,
but it does also help
if you're used to the sensation of climbing.
You will still be using the same muscles
as you do on the flat, but you'll be using
them in a slightly different way.
- [Matt] The good news for those of us
that might not live near climbs,
is that riding on an indoor trainer
can mimic climbing really well.
So, if you're training for some alpine riding
and you live in the center of a big city, don't worry.
Do as much climbing as you can in the real world,
when time allows,
then get on your trainer and get pedaling.
(techno music with heavy beat)
- Now you might think
that us giving you just four tips,
one of which is actually riding up climbs,
is slightly over simplifying
what is an art form.
And yeah, there are a few things, few techniques,
which can make a small difference here or there.
- But the most important thing
is not to overthink your climbing.
As the legendary band Funkadelic once said,
"free your mind, and your ass will follow."
Now, if you like this video and you haven't subscribed
to GCN already, you can do that by clicking on the globe.
It's absolutely free.
- Yeah, and here are two more videos which we think
you might enjoy,
the first of which is down here,
and it's Matt, getting taught,
by Alberto Contador, how to climb.
And the other one, in the other corner,
is myself and Si Richardson asking
can you improve your cadence?