Road bike mountain training: the most important information
Cadence
The intuitively selected cadence is around ten revolutions per minute (rpm) lower on the mountain than on the flat. According to the latest research, this is just fine. The optimum speed depends on training and fitness and ranges from 60 to over 90 rpm. Rule of thumb: The fitter, the faster! 80 to 90 rpm results in a smooth uphill ride. The advantage of fast pedalling: the muscles do not tire as quickly and peak performance is higher. So when training on the mountain, pedal more quickly unless your training plan includes power-emphasising intervals.
Cradle kick
Riding standing up for long periods is not efficient. However, briefly switching to the cradle position loosens cramped muscles, is ideal for levelling out differences in gradient and is used for explosive acceleration on hills.
Training on small mountains
No decent mountains in your home cycling area? Never mind, if need be, a shovel of sand is enough to collect plenty of metres in altitude through repeated cycling. This has even given rise to its own discipline, Everesting: collecting metres in altitude equivalent to the highest mountain on any given incline.
Road bike mountain training without mountains
Are there no mountains in the area? Then the only option is to pedal continuously into the wind in high gear to get as close as possible to riding uphill. Generations of Dutch racing cyclists have proven that this is possible.
Mountain training camp
Heading off into the distance is one way to train specifically for altitude metres when these can only be found in small doses on your own doorstep. A positive side-effect: the full concentration on the sport allows higher exertion levels during training than at home. As long as a basic level of fitness has been established, a mountain training camp can be added at any time. Specific mountain training is also possible in spring if you don't start from scratch.
Below is an example of a spring camp in which hill climbing is well balanced. Otherwise, a mountain camp (see below) has proven to be a good way to train a compact amount of altitude metres. This should be completed four weeks before the planned main competition. Repeatedly tackling long climbs at high speed shows what works and what doesn't (yet). The week before and after is part of the programme for all training camps, as the higher training load should be properly prepared for and followed up on in order to unfold its full effect.
Road bike mountain training: training camp at home
Mountain training: Mountain camp
Road bike mountain training: Spring camp
