Climbing is an elusive skill that many cyclists want to have and few seem to have mastered. It’s often times the key component of many events, touting huge climbs and relentless rolling hills. They can wear even the strongest cyclist down both mentally and physically, and leave you feeling completely spent.
However, if you can understand what makes a great climber, the science behind climbing, and how to alter your training to prepare for the climbs, you can conquer any grade with confidence. Climbing will never be easy, but you can be prepared with the knowledge and workouts necessary to get you up and over your next big climb.
What Makes Someone a Good Climber in Cycling?
The best climbers combine several important abilities:
- A strong power-to-weight ratio
- High sustainable power
- Efficient climbing technique
- Aerobic endurance and fatigue resistance
- Smart pacing
- Mental strength
These qualities don’t have to be represented equally. However, improving each one can help you climb faster and avoid fading before the summit.
Efficient Climbing Form
Climbing form is one of the most overlooked parts of riding uphill. Strength and aerobic capacity matter, but unnecessary tension and poor positioning can waste energy.
Stay relaxed through your shoulders, hands and upper body. Keep your hips and lower back stable as you apply power to the pedals. Remaining seated is generally more economical, especially during long, steady climbs, while standing can help you generate more power or change muscle recruitment during steeper sections. Research has found that standing can increase energy cost, although the difference depends on the rider, intensity and terrain.
There is no single perfect climbing cadence for every cyclist. Instead of forcing yourself to hold 80 or 90 rpm, use your gearing to find a cadence that allows you to maintain steady power without placing excessive strain on your muscles. Cyclists often naturally choose a somewhat lower cadence when riding uphill, and trained riders can be economical across a range of cadences.
Power-to-Weight Ratio
Power-to-weight ratio describes how much power you can produce relative to your body weight. It is expressed in watts per kilogram, or W/kg:
Power-to-weight ratio = power in watts ÷ body weight in kilograms
For example, a cyclist producing 280 watts at 70 kilograms has a power-to-weight ratio of 4 W/kg.
As the road gets steeper and speeds decrease, gravity becomes a greater part of the resistance you must overcome. That makes W/kg especially important on long or steep climbs.
However, a higher W/kg does not automatically mean you should focus on losing weight. You can improve your ratio by increasing power while maintaining your current weight, decreasing nonfunctional mass while maintaining power, and increasing power while gradually changing body composition
For many cyclists, improving power is the safest and most productive place to start. Aggressive weight loss can reduce training quality, recovery and overall power. Health and consistency should always take priority over reaching an arbitrary number on the scale.
Sustainable Power and Threshold
Your ability to sustain a high percentage of your power for the duration of a climb is just as important as your peak numbers.
Functional Threshold Power, or FTP, is commonly used to estimate the power a cyclist can sustain during a prolonged, hard effort. Raising your FTP can allow you to climb at a higher power before fatigue begins to accumulate quickly.
But FTP is only one part of climbing performance. A short, steep hill may rely heavily on VO2 max and anaerobic power, while a 30- or 60-minute ascent requires pacing, aerobic endurance and sustained power. Late-race climbs also test durability—your ability to produce power after several hours of riding.
Mental Strength and Pacing
Many riders are defeated before the climb begins because of negative self-talk or an overly aggressive start. A hard climb feels much longer when you spend the first few minutes above an effort you can sustain.
Settle into your pace early. Focus on steady breathing, relaxed form and the section of road immediately in front of you. If the climb changes pitch, shift before your cadence drops too far and avoid responding to every change in gradient with a surge.
Breaking a long climb into smaller landmarks can also make it more manageable. Rather than thinking about the entire mountain, focus on reaching the next switchback, kilometer marker or change in terrain.
Why Is Cycling Uphill So Hard?
Your bike is constantly working against three primary forces: Rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag, and gravity.
On flat terrain, aerodynamic drag accounts for much of the resistance a cyclist must overcome. As the road gets steeper and speed drops, aerodynamic drag becomes less influential while gravity becomes more important.
The amount of power needed to climb depends on several factors, including rider and bike weight, gradient, speed, rolling resistance, wind, road surface, and drivetrain efficiency.
This is why power-to-weight ratio matters most on steep climbs. On gentler gradients or fast uphill sections, aerodynamics and absolute power remain important.
What Happens to Your Body When You Climb?
Climbing usually requires more force with each pedal stroke, particularly when cadence drops or the grade increases. Your working muscles need more energy, heart rate and breathing rise, and your body recruits additional muscle fibers to maintain power.
As intensity increases, your muscles rely more heavily on carbohydrate metabolism and lactate production rises. Lactate itself is not simply a waste product or the direct cause of the burning sensation in your legs. It can be transported and reused as fuel. The larger problem is that riding above a sustainable intensity accelerates fatigue and makes it increasingly difficult to maintain power.
A high cadence does not automatically prevent lactate accumulation. The better strategy is to choose appropriate gearing, pace the climb according to its duration and avoid unnecessary spikes in power.
Your aerobic system plays a major role in every climb—even during relatively short, hard efforts. When you ride above your sustainable power, anaerobic energy contributes more heavily, but it cannot support that intensity indefinitely. Starting too hard may leave you struggling long before you reach the summit.
How to Train to Become a Better Climber
The best climbing training prepares you for the specific demands of your goal event. Consider the length and steepness of the climbs, where they occur in the ride and whether you need steady power or repeated surges.
A strong climbing program should include a mix of aerobic endurance, sweet spot or threshold work, higher-intensity intervals, strength training and time spent riding hills.
Sweet Spot and Threshold Workouts
Sweet spot intervals help develop the sustained power and muscular endurance needed for long climbs. They are typically completed at approximately 88% to 94% of FTP.
Start with:
- 3 × 10 minutes at sweet spot with five minutes of easy riding between efforts
Progress toward:
- 3 × 15 minutes
- 2 × 20 minutes
- 3 × 20 minutes
Threshold intervals are performed closer to FTP and create more fatigue. Begin with shorter intervals, such as 4 × 8 minutes, before progressing to longer efforts.
Keep your power controlled and repeatable. The goal is to accumulate quality time near threshold, not turn the first interval into a time trial.
Short, High-Intensity Climbing Intervals
Shorter intervals above FTP prepare you for steep pitches, attacks and climbs that require repeated changes in power.
Try:
- 5 × 3 minutes at a hard, controlled effort with three minutes of easy recovery
- 6 × 1 minute very hard with two to three minutes of recovery
- 8 to 10 × 30 seconds hard with full recovery
These intervals should be difficult, but your power and form should remain consistent throughout the set. If your output drops dramatically, add more recovery or end the workout.
Hill Repeats
If you want to become a better climber, you need to spend time riding uphill. Hill repeats allow you to practice pacing, shifting, cadence and body position while developing climbing-specific fitness.
Find a climb lasting eight to 12 minutes at a moderate grade and ride the repeats near threshold. Start with two or three repetitions and gradually increase the total time spent climbing.
You can also use one- to three-minute repeats on a steeper hill to prepare for shorter, more intense efforts.
If you don’t have access to hills, use an indoor trainer or perform controlled big-gear intervals on flat terrain. Avoid selecting such a heavy gear that your form deteriorates or you experience joint discomfort.
During the build phase of your training, one or two climbing-specific sessions per week may be appropriate. The right frequency will depend on your training history, goals and ability to recover.
Training tip: Use Climb Detection in Analyze 360 to review the significant climbs in an uploaded ride. Compare power, heart rate, cadence and pacing across each ascent to see where your effort stayed controlled—and where it began to fade.
Strength Training for Cyclists
Strength training can help cyclists improve force production, cycling economy and resilience. Research supports the use of heavy strength training alongside endurance training to improve cycling performance.
Focus on controlled, multi-joint movements that train the primary muscles used in cycling, including the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, hips and trunk. Depending on your experience and available equipment, exercises may include:
- Squats
- Deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts
- Split squats
- Step-ups
- Hip thrusts
- Calf raises
- Trunk-stability exercises
If you’re not sure where to begin, these strength exercises for cyclists can help you build a well-rounded routine.
You can also use TrainingPeaks Strength Builder to plan, complete and track strength workouts alongside your cycling. Exercise demonstrations make it easier to follow each movement, while keeping your strength and endurance training together gives you a clearer view of your overall workload and consistency.
Strength training should complement your cycling, not leave you too fatigued to complete your key rides. Prioritize good technique, increase resistance gradually and adjust your gym workload as you approach important races.
Practice on Group Rides and in Races
One of the best ways to improve your climbing is to apply what you’ve practiced in training. Group rides and lower-priority races give you opportunities to develop pacing, positioning and mental strength under pressure.
Pay attention to what happens when the pace changes. Do you start too hard? Lose contact on short surges? Fade on longer climbs? Struggle after several hours of riding?
Use those observations to guide your next training block. Real-world riding can show you where your strengths and weaknesses are more clearly than a single fitness test.
References
Harnish, C.R. et al. (2007, March). Effect of Cycling Position on Oxygen Uptake and Preferred Cadence in Trained Cyclists During Hill Climbing at Various Power Outputs. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-006-0358-7
Rønnestad, B.R. and Mujika, I. (2014, August). Optimizing Strength Training for Running and Cycling Endurance Performance: A Review. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12104
Ryschon, T.W. and Stray-Gundersen, J. (1991, August). The Effect of Body Position on the Energy Cost of Cycling. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1956270/
Swain, D.P. (1998). Cycling Uphill and Downhill. Retrieved from: https://www.sportsci.org/jour/9804/dps.html
Vikmoen, O. and Rønnestad, B.R. (2021, March 17). A Comparison of the Effect of Strength Training on Cycling Performance Between Men and Women. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6010029
