ASK GCN: CLIMBING WITHOUT MOUNTAINS

Question: How can you train for mountains when you don’t live near any above 4 minutes?

If you long for the mountains, there’s still a way to train. Here are two options.

VO2 STYLE INTERVALS

These intervals are generally 3-8min in duration with a matching recovery period. Aim to complete anywhere from 12 to 30min interval work in these sessions. These efforts will help you step on the gas and raise your power for when you need it most.

RIDE ON ZWIFT

There’s a wide range of climbs from 5 min efforts to 14km monsters, like the epic Alpe du Zwift. The recently released 2018 Innsbruck World Championship course features an 8km climb with recovery efforts in between each tough effort. Zwift lets you choose your route and put your body through a long session that realistically simulates the feel of a climb.

If you’re training for a specific climb in the future, you’ll want to train for the length of the effort required to complete the climb.

 

• If the climb in your event is going to be roughly 40 minutes in duration, you would want to train for 40 min efforts on the flats to learn how to gauge your effort.
• This also helps in learning how to pace yourself for an extended period. With good pacing, you will be passing plenty of riders in the second half of the climb.

DOWNLOAD AND IMPORT THE WORKOUT

You can download the recommended workout here. Next, you’ll want to import the workout into Zwift and get training. This article explains how to import.

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