Short Hill climbing

What wattage do you need to produce to not get dropped?

jollyrogers said:

What wattage do you need to produce to not get dropped?

when the attacks starts i would guess around 450w from the other riders.These attacks are around 1min.

Power to weight ratio
Technique
Endurance

All the above can affect your ability to hang.

legs gone said:

My FTP is 250w, I live and race in an area thats has lots of short steep 30s-1min hills. My problem is that I often get dropped on them.I can sit and climb around 280w if I go over this I dig a hole for myself. How can i improve on not getting dropped. I suck in 5s and 1min testing, they are listed in the untrained region.

legs gone said:

when the attacks starts i would guess around 450w from the other riders.These attacks are around 1min.

Repeated short maximal intervals become more aerobic with each repetition. I didn't ask what your weight is, but your talking about repeated exertions of 180% of FTP - well above Z6.

My primarly recommendation would be to focus on increasing FTP and/or decreasing body mass so that every surge is less of a jump over threshold (sustainable power).

If you have a peaking phase, you could mix in a couple weeks of Z6 work, but improving W/kg at threshold is key.

legs gone said:

My FTP is 250w, I live and race in an area thats has lots of short steep 30s-1min hills. My problem is that I often get dropped on them.I can sit and climb around 280w if I go over this I dig a hole for myself. How can i improve on not getting dropped. I suck in 5s and 1min testing, they are listed in the untrained region.

It's the same for me. Not a "punchy" rider. What I do is ride with in myself and not go anerobic. Usually the other riders will sit up to recover.when they get to the top of the hill. When I get to the top I have to close the gap but it's usually not a problem 'cause I haven't burned any matches and I'll keep the power on right over the top. Often I'll pass the others on the descent. I've got a flat power curve but my FTP is up significantly from previous years so I use it to reel them back in. I'm more of a TT'er so I use what I've got. Obviously losing weight helps as well.

There are two things that you can do in the near term to hang with the pack:

• Get to the front of the pack before each hill, and slide back, taking the hill at 'your own pace'. You will be less likely to get dropped this way, and if you get dropped, the gap will be smaller.
  
• Work on your anaerobic capacity. This means doing workouts above VO2 max for 1-2min at a time with plenty of recovery. After a few weeks, you will feel much more fresh at the top of each hill. As a warning: high intensity work will tend to burn you out sooner if your base is not adequately built.
  

In the long term, I agree with what jollyrogers in that you should focus on boosting your FTP through Tempo rides and intervals at 90-110% FTP.

Happy Training
Coach Z

legs gone said:

My FTP is 250w, I live and race in an area thats has lots of short steep 30s-1min hills. My problem is that I often get dropped on them.I can sit and climb around 280w if I go over this I dig a hole for myself. How can i improve on not getting dropped. I suck in 5s and 1min testing, they are listed in the untrained region.

How much do you weigh?

Given your FTP, of course you dig a hole over 280w (even 250w), but you *should* still be able to train to at least 450w for 60s, and at least 300w for 5m. The best method for this is intervals in the 1m-5m region. Workouts like 10x1m with a few minutes rest, and 4-6x5m with 5m rest would be a good start.

lanierb said:

How much do you weigh?

Given your FTP, of course you dig a hole over 280w (even 250w), but you *should* still be able to train to at least 450w for 60s, and at least 300w for 5m. The best method for this is intervals in the 1m-5m region. Workouts like 10x1m with a few minutes rest, and 4-6x5m with 5m rest would be a good start.

Hey thanks for all the replys. I present i weight 160lbw.

Raising FTP is always good as is losing weight.

Practise climbing out of the saddle. If you're not used to it it'll feel awkward and at first it will get you out of breath faster and make you feel like crud. Don't try to stand and spin - it ain't going to happen. Contador you ain't. :pUse this technique if the gear is either getting too big or you need to up a gear in order to stand and keep up with the pace.

Make sure that the front wheel doesn't deviate too much from the intended direction - you don't want to be adding distance when you're getting dropped!

If you have a descent right after the hill crests do whatever you can to stay with your friends and make sure to continue the effort at least 20 yards past the top of the hill. No point in blowing your wad on the way up only to lose all that ground at the top.

If needs be, spend a midweek training session going up and down hills out of the saddle at just over threshold. It's just another technique that needs to be learned. Practise holding onto the brake levers and on the drops. If it's a 30 second hill then the latter is good if you get good enough to keep the effort going over the top.

For out of the saddle motivation watch videos of Pantani, Luis Herrera, Iban Mayo and Lance, his Alpe Dhuez stage win is a classic for this. Lance was a master at prolonged out of the saddle efforts and this was how he managed to open the big gaps during his Tour winning efforts. While those mountain efforts require a bit less intensity, they'll show you at least what it 'should' look like. :p

[lang=de]Vorausgesetzt Bedingungen gut sind-das heißt, Sie haben Traktion klettern auf einem Rennrad ist eine Sache der die meiste Energie für die Energie, die Sie verbringen. Das Bauchgefühl von Anfang Radfahrer ist in den Pedalen stehen und fahren jedes Pedal nach vorne Schlag auf Schlag bis zum Kamm des Hügels erreicht ist oder der Radfahrer stürzt vor Erschöpfung.[/lang]

legs gone said:

My FTP is 250w, I live and race in an area thats has lots of short steep 30s-1min hills. My problem is that I often get dropped on them.I can sit and climb around 280w if I go over this I dig a hole for myself. How can i improve on not getting dropped. I suck in 5s and 1min testing, they are listed in the untrained region.

You probably need to hit the gym and build some strength, get some power bulk and then hit the hills on the pedals and work on endurance.