Training groups...

Creating and running a Hill Climb Training Group
– Let’s Climb Them Together!

The following section offers some advice to other cycling clubs as to how to start a Hill Climb Training Group. In our case, the specific goal for the training group was to get members to compete in the South Downs Hill Climb Series, which comprises 8 events held in September and October. However, you may have other ideas or need to focus on other hill climb events if you’re not based in the South East of England. Entries for cycling competitions have been dropping across the board for the last year or two, this is our attempt to try and reverse that process – Best of luck!

The first step is to find one or two club members who are experienced cyclists to run the training group. In our case there were two of us who had both competed in the South Downs Hill Climb Series tor at least two seasons. Hill Climb experience is useful, but not essential.

The second step for a club starting a training group will be to attract members of the cycling club to join the Hill Climb Training Group. We used a WhatsApp group for members so we could share ride details, training tips, questions and feedback. Feel free to use the following:

Topics for the group, as per the flyer above, should include technique (in or out of the saddle) gearing, pacing, zone 2 training combined with high intensity training, riding to power, riding to heart rate, weight management, strength training, sharing of training tips and links to best practice hill climb training videos, recce of event climbs, baselining against previous hill climb events. Feedback on the 24 week training plan is also very useful.

So, how to get started. The first ride I organised was a zone 2 ride to the Jungle for a coffee, followed by zone 2 to the base of Steyning Bostal. We then did a few repeats as a group up the first part of the Bostal , stopping at the pull in about 100m into the flat section. The idea was everyone followed me a the steady(ish) pace I was setting. The first repeat I did at a steady(ish) 180 watts, then the next at 200, then 220, 240 and 260. The idea was to see how everyone did, see how they looked up the hills and not completely trash everyone. Within the group all but one rider couldn’t do all the repeats at the prescribed watts. So that set a baseline for everyone. I also let them know how their times related to competitors in previous years’ hill climbs (at least for the first part). I also had a look at the gearing on everyone’s bike. One of the ladies had a close ration cassette on the back (maybe an 11-25) which gave way too high a gear for the Bostal. It was also an opportunity to do some out of the saddle work. A couple of the ladies seemed a bit static (perfectly upright) on the bike. I suggested pulling up on the bars a bit against the descending leg. Later that day I forwarded a brief video of Andrew Feather and his bars veering all over the place as he fought his way up a climb. Following the Bostal work, we rode significantly quicker back to DVH using the hills for some fartlek style training. Whilst the group did break up a bit, I allowed plenty of opportunities to regroup and recover.

So, what did we learn from the first outing? The zone 2 ride was an opportunity to get across the discipline required for zone 2 and riding to power and heart rate – you must not ride yourself into zone 3 and that removes the zone 2 benefits – and a quick foray into zone 3 takes a good half hour to correct as the body has clicked over to carbs burning rather than fat burning and doesn’t resort to fat burning immediately. We also developed a feel for pacing on a climb and not starting too quickly. We looked at in/out of the saddle – out for the steep parts and how you pull up on the bars to put down more power. We looked at gearing with the example above – too hight a gear leads to quicker muscular fatigue. We also looked briefly at cadence up a steep climb – better to keep it reasonably high (>80 rpm). In addition, we did a recce of the first part of one of the hill climb events, and baselined everyone’s performance against themselves (for later) and against previous hill climb competitors (looking a results from the last year or two) so everyone could see they were doing ok. Lastly we did some hill repeats; I pointed out everyone should use their local climb for hill repeats everyone week or two and check that they were getting quicker. So, a whole lot of takeaways from the first session.

For the following month we rode over (zone 2) to Steyning Bostal and climbed the whole thing at a steady 200w, continuing to the base of Titch Hill. This is the start of another of the hill climbs, which we did at a steady 180 watts. It was another opportunity to review pacing a climb, and to check how everyone was getting on with out of the saddle – which we did for 30 seconds every other minute. Once again it was fartlek training back to DVH – demonstrating that you can get the best of both worlds with a long zone 2 ride with the last part riding at a higher intensity.

For month 3 I asked one of the ladies to produce a hilly ride which was duly delivered and boy, was it hilly. We did that with pacing up all of the hills, and did Brantridge Lane (a SDHCS event) towards the end of the ride – which was an every man for himself effort. Once again this provided some interesting benchmarking against actual event times for everyone.

The remaining rides were of a similar nature with more recces, hilly rides and hill repeats leading towards the first event of the season. Members also shared specific rides they were doing on platforms like Zwift – the closer we were to the event, the higher the intensity of the rides! There was much discussion about the competitions. I always turn up with a spare pair of wheels just in case and try and get to the event with 90 minutes to go. I do a warm up, loosely based on the British Cycling warm up which I aim to finish with about 10 minutes to go. I carry a musette for my gear I don’t need to leave at the start. I do use a Garmin, a heart rate monitor and a power meter, with the Garmin set to 3 second power and average power plus elapsed time and heart rate. I turn the Garmin on during the countdown on the start line and then with 2 seconds to go hit the start button. I then get up to speed quickly and then try and maintain my target power. I normally have a point on the hill which I have timed from previous rides to check I’m making some sort of progress and within 150m of the end, its all guns blazing...

Within the training group we use a WhatsApp group to communicate. This generally covers rides, any training tips and any feedback or questions from anyone.

So, how did it all work out for the group?

Very well actually. We had a number of podium finishes which are always in Cycling Weekly – very nice. The series results are an aggregation of the individual results for each event. We were delighted to have one of our ladies as the “Queen of the Downs” (senior ladies) and another as “Duchess of the Downs” (veteran ladies). All in all a great result as one of the ladies hadn’t ever hill climbed before, although she is a runner/triathlete so well used to competition.

Please see below some feedback from the Queen and the Duchess!

Hayley, the Queen of the Downs (Senior Lady)

When I first started cycling, I used to despise hills, but in the last few years I’ve grown to quite like them! Not always in the minutes spent climbing them, but it is always a great feeling when you reach the top. Being part of Sussex Nomads for a number of years, I’ve taken part in the Ditchling Beacon climb quite a few times, but not done the other events in the series. This year I couldn’t commit to all of the events, but did the Beacon plus the Steyning Bostal and Titch Hill climbs. My results in those 3 climbs were enough to make me ‘Queen of the Downs’ (winner of the Senior women’s category’ so I will definitely be back to defend my crown in all of the events next year!

It was a great experience being part of the hill climb training group (especially when we’d done the hills and stopped for ice cream or cake!). Having that focus, friendly peer pressure, and motivation to do hill repeats definitely made a difference. It was also very helpful to be able to practise on some of the hills to really get familiar with them.

Graham shared some useful training videos in our whatsapp group that gave us some more ideas and inspiration. We also discussed tips and techniques for the climbs, like pacing, getting out of the saddle, and monitoring power.

Coffee stops included chats about different training modalities such as zone 2, intervals, and the benefits of strength training. All of this meant we made some great progress in our fitness and climbing abilities, while still also just enjoying being out riding as a group.

I was tasked with creating one of our training routes and, being very lucky to live close to the Ashdown forest, utilised some of the many hills (and lovely views) in that area. And of course it had to include a stop at one the best ice cream places around - great fuel for climbing!

This year my dad - a very experienced and fast cyclist, but not usually a hill climber - took part in the whole series. He loved it, particularly because of the camaraderie and friendliness amongst the participants. I found the same in the 3 events I attended - everyone is so encouraging and supportive. Regardless of your ability, they’re cheering you on and wanting you to do well.

It’s always inspiring to meet other women doing these kind of events and that was another plus from this year. My fellow Nomad Sally, also part of the hill climb training group, was crowned Duchess in her first series. There was a range of experience among the women involved but everyone was lovely, and we all felt that there are so many women out there who would really enjoy doing this series. It can seem daunting, but I promise you you’ll be supported, and I bet you’ll have a great time.

There was also a selection of excellent cakes at the final climb of Ditchling Beacon - worth attending for those alone. A big thank you to everyone involved in organising and running the event, and particularly Graham for setting up the hill climb training group too. I’ll be doing the whole series next year and it would be brilliant to see more women joining the fun. I can highly recommend it :)

Sally, the Duchess of the Downs (Veteran Lady)

When I joined the Nomads about a year ago, I had only just started wearing cleats! I was keen to ride for longer distances and to improve my cycling for triathlons. I really enjoy racing on the flats, but found hills a bit more challenging (who doesn’t?). So, when Graham suggested we start a group of ladies to train for the hill climb series, I was really interested to learn his secrets and improve my uphill performances.

Our first foray was 3 x repeats up Steyning Bostal, increasing the levels of effort each time. I didn’t make a promising start. I fell off before I’d even started (think I was a bit nervous) then got left behind by the others who were much stronger than me at hills. But I was still pleased – and I quite liked the peer pressure… iron sharpens iron and all that!

Over the coming weeks, we did a lot of hilly routes – including a few from the South Downs Hill Climb Series so I knew what I was in for. We talked a lot about tactics like starting in a low gear and not haring off too fast. Graham also gave me some helpful lessons in how to get up out the saddle which I wasn’t doing very well at the time. He also sent video links of other people doing hill climbs which were really interesting.

I think it was good to do the hills two or three times wherever possible, it somehow made the hills less scary to become familiar with them. Even on the race days, I got there about an hour early and did the hill at least once before racing it.

It was great to meet the other women who raced. Some of them were formidable opponents, but there was a great camaraderie between us, and I got a lot of tips! I did get a bit nervous to start with – but I ended up really enjoying pushing myself. I managed to complete all the races and was cock-a-hoop to be made the Duchess whilst Hayley, my Nomad co-trainee was crowned Queen!

I’ll be coming back for more – and hope more ladies will join in the fun!

Thanks to Graham for all his effort and drive (and he and Hayley for the hill routes via ice cream stops and cafes)!

I hope that all makes sense.
Graham
Sussex Nomads Hill Climb Committee