Uphill Time trial

[carolz]

Later this month I'll be doing my first uphill time trial. It's a 1km with a 10% to 15% gradient. I love hills usually but 1km is very short ! Any tips ?

 

[swampy1970]

There's not a whole bunch in the way of training you can do in this time frame other than doing lots of short, sharp climbs similar to the one you'll be racing up. Mix in some 5 minute efforts with some 20 to 30 second maximal effort climbs. Allow lots of recovery time between each effort. As for the even itself, a really good warm up is extremely important. The shorter the even - the longer and more intense the warm up. For short hill climbs I'd say 20 minutes starting fairly easily gradually increasing to your threshold power (what you could hold for an hour) and hold it there for 5 minutes or so, pedal easy for a few minutes and then put in a couple of hard 1minute efforts - at about the pace you could hold for 3 to 5 minutes. Finish these with enough time to towel off, get your clothing adjusted, helmet on and off to the start. The idea is to get to the start with a few minutes to spare. before you do your warm up ride the bike from where you're parked towards the start. If there are stop signs, traffic lights, roads that you need to cross that feature heavy traffic you will need to assume the worst when you finish your warm up and ride to the start. Murphy's Law will come into effect and if you leave for the start late you will hit all the red lights and spend what seems like an eternity trying to cross any road... For the race itself. 1 km - I'm going to assume 3 minutes. Start briskly but not very hard. Ramp up the effort for the first 20 seconds and only then should you be hitting full on race pace. Start at full effort and youll lose time by the bucket load at the top. Patience... You want to reach the point where you have reached maximal effort about 10 meters before the line. As for the bike - it all depends on how serious you want to get. Remove all bottle cages, the big ring (if there are no flat or downhill sections), front mech and left "brifter" if you have a regular brake lever for the left hand side, bar tape... Don't take the little bag that you use for holding spare inner tubes etc... Inflate tires to normal pressure unless the road surface is really smooth. If its smoother than a baby's bottom the add 10psi but don't exceed the max inflation pressure of the rims or tires. If you do want to remove the big ring you will likely need shorter chainring bolts. Clothing - skin suit if you have one - shorts and tight fitting shirt if you don't. If its roasting hot - the thinner the shirt the better and a full unzipped shirt might be the way to go. Socks - all depends on how your shoes fit. Mitts - all depends on the course and the amount of sweat. For steep hills with lots of out of the saddle work I like mitts with tacky palms that grip well, rather than sweating hands that slide a bit. For hills that arent so steep (under 9%) I'd go without. Glasses - I want as much air in my face as possible.... No glasses for me. If its really hot, spray yourself down with cool water before you start. Don't eat within the hour before the event - unless you want to see it partly digested and sitting on the pavement If you get the warm up right and resist the urge to sprint from the start the you'll likely do a good ride. Good luck

 

[carolz]

Thanks that was really helpful !! I'm going to try out the said hill today to determine what gears to use and when to change them. As for the heat , I'm in Malta, temperatures this week are nearing 35 degrees. It will be HOT !!! Looking forward to it though Thanks again