How to get over a wall (or a steep hill)

It’s steep, it’s hard and it can be long… However, it’s not all fun, far from it! When a wall rises up under your wheels, in other words a very steep hill, you never know how to approach it.. Here are some tips to best erase these topographic anomalies which are never very fun on a bike.

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: depositphotos.com

When a cyclist has to climb to a higher altitude, he never considers that the shortest path is the straight line. The steeper the hill, the more intense the effort, even if you just want to ride "inside". With a minimum of practice and experience, gear management allows you to overcome a long and moderately steep hill without much difficulty, but for a steep hill, whatever its distance, you have to "tear yourself away". So, of course, there are riders who are more aerial than others to overcome this type of obstacle. Should we therefore consider them better climbers? Do they suffer less than us, poor cannonballs planted in the slope, burning lungs, cramped biceps, varicose veins on the verge of exploding and a bike that weighs a ton?

There are “walls” everywhere

The advancetagand with walls, they are everywhere. At least, we can find them in all regions. There is no need to look for the biggest differences in altitude or the steepest massifs.tagnew to face coasts with (very) high percentagestage. The North, known for its flatness, has its share of mountains, a kind of warts rising 500 meters, sometimes less, and often paved with bad intentions. In the West, Charente, Vendée, Poitou also have their cutthroats. The Center is not left out, especially along the Loire, but also each time a small route The countryside abruptly leaves the banks of a river or a lesser watercourse, to rise up onto a plateau or a hill barely 50 meters higher.

Walls are also found near built-up areas.. Normal, with the population expansion, cities and neighborhoods expand, investing the surrounding hills. These steep slopes, you have to cross them to get home or to avoid the main roads. There are even organizers who have the idea of ​​having local races pass through them. And when it's on a circuit, it's almost more fun!

The advancetagand with walls too, you can go around them. Yes, but what's the point of always avoiding difficulty? Some walls are made famous by the big professional races that often use them as judges of peace. We immediately think of the Huy wall, the scene of the finish of the Flèche wallonne, the Grammont wall, long an obligatory passage of the Tour of Flanders, just like the famous Kopenberg (both on cobblestones). Of course, there are others, countless and always just as tricky. And on cyclosportives? Difficult climbs are part of the rules of the game, and when the events take place in non-monumental regionstagThe organizers always find a "raid" here and there to make the selection and test the organizations. It is therefore useful to know how to approach them, for pleasure or by obligation, knowing that specific work can be useful for general physical condition.

What qualities are needed to climb a wall?

The intensity of the effort to be provided depends on the length of the difficulty. The shorter a wall, the more the qualities required are far removed from those of the pure climber. Why? The person we call a climber has above all a weight/power ratio at the anaerobic threshold that is very advanced.tagthem. The threshold is this intensity of balance between the highest possible power provided and the elimination of waste by the body. Beyond that, it is the explosion assured in the more or less short term. Breathing control is often a relatively reliable indicator of this effort zone, even if it is not the only one. It is at this intensity that you climb a pass. The pace is sustained, sweating abundant, the legs are permanently engaged, the breathing rate is very high, but regular. With training and a diet rich in sugars during the effort, you can continue for several tens of minutes at this pace. The climber is therefore the one who maintains the intensity for a long time, and as he is relatively light for the power he develops, he is more effective in overcoming weightlessness. This is obviously for a cyclosportive level, because the international level climber has other assets in his game, notably this capacity to change pace during a long climb, go into the red for a few hundred meters, then return to cruising speed.

But when you're climbing a wall, you don't have time to get into this rhythm.. The break in rhythm at the bottom of the difficulty is very trying for the muscles and the breath. Even if you are already very warm at the foot of the wall, the difference in power required to overcome the obstacle - all the higher as the percentagetage of the slope is high – equivalent to a long sprint on a muscular level. The heart rate rises quickly, but out of sync with what is felt in the legs, lungs, arms. Obviously, if you know that you are at the foot of a five-kilometer bump, you do not panic, you change to your smallest gear and settle into your “threshold” cadence. It is the climbing abilities that come into play. But if the climb is only a kilometer (sometimes less), you have to tear yourself away so as not to lose the wheels of your companions route. In any case, over a kilometer, even if you set your pace, the body does not have time to find its balance zone between supplying power and eliminating waste.

Climbing five walls of one kilometer in a row is therefore much more demanding than climbing a single hill of five kilometers with the same percentage.tagand therefore the same cumulative difference in level. Climbing a wall – short and steep – calls on maximum aerobic power (MAP), one of the essential qualities for cycling performance. However, this is not the intensity zone that most cyclosportives and cycle tourists work on. That's normal, it's also the most unpleasant. But having this reserve of power can be very useful for overcoming difficulties and hanging on to the best groups on a cyclo.

Gaining punch

To be more comfortable when crossing a short and steep hill, you must, as is often the case, practice technically and physically. Since it is the PMA which is primarily requested in this specific case, there is nothing like optimizing it, but not necessarily by immediately crossing walls in real conditions. To properly frame your progress, you can practice PMA with series of efforts designed to spend as much time as possible at the desired intensity.The most important thing to progress remains the percentagetage time on a ride where you really use the desired energy source. For example, if you want to ride as long as possible at the fastest possible speed, you collapse after X minutes (depending on your level) and in any case, before you crack, the intensity drops inexorably. On the other hand, if you chain together short series of efforts at the targeted intensity, interspersed with recovery periods, you end up accumulating more time at the heart of this intensity.

Well, in practice, here's how to do it: after a gradual warm-up phase, and on a short outing, do a long 30-second sprint and then recover for a minute; then repeat this pattern until you have nothing left in your legs. The number of long sprints depends on your base level or fitness, it can range from four to ten sprints, which can be multiplied by two sets within the same training session.. When we talk about sprinting, obviously, over 30 seconds, we have to measure it out. Don't let go of everything on the first seven or eight pedal strokes, otherwise we're no longer working on the same line. Someone who does two sets of eight sprints accumulates a total of 2 x (8×30'') of effort at PMA during their session, or eight minutes at the target intensity. So much more than they could do continuously.

To progress over the weeks, the game is to gradually reduce the recovery time between sprints. From one minute, we go to 50 seconds, then 40 seconds. At 30 seconds of recovery, after 30 seconds of sprinting, we are at the very good level. But be careful, this type of session is very costly in terms of energy. It must be carried out at a distance from other long and/or difficult sessions and of course from a competition. And above all, these exercises must be based on a previously very solid physical condition. Because the PMA work, by the principle of communicating reservoirs, reduces the basic qualities by promoting explosiveness, and tends to "crush" the value of the anaerobic threshold, therefore the power at which lactates are correctly metabolized during the effort.

The whole art of training and the know-how of the trainer therefore consists of distributing these sessions as fairly as possible according to the objectives and the state of form. But for the cyclosportive or recreational cyclo, all there is to know is to spread out this type of exercise from time to time to break habits, which are harmful to long-term progress.

Another way of working on PMA

Less explosive but just as difficult, there is another method for improving your PMA, the one highlighted by Frédéric Grappe, based on the work of Gimenez (1992). This type of session can be applied to route, or better, on a home trainer, so as to smooth out the power supplied. It consists of adjusting to the intensity I3 for four minutes, then push to I5 for a minute, before returning to I3 and so on. In the end, the entire exercise lasts 45 minutes, or nine sessions of five minutes (four minutes plus one minute) and therefore nine minutes in total at PMA. You must already be in very good condition to be able to sustain such an exercise, but what you need to remember for the cyclo is the basic principle. It doesn't matter if you can only do five or six sets, because it's the targeted intensity of the exercises that matters most.

What does this have to do with going through a wall?

obviously, These exercises are intended to make you progress overall at PMA, since this is the intensity at which you climb steep hills when they are short. They can be done on the flat, on a home trainer, or why not on long hills with a reasonable gradient. The important thing here is to be physically ready to withstand this particular effort, far removed from the regular rhythm of a usual long-distance outing.

In the field

The fact remains that it is difficult to train to climb walls without… climbing walls! The physical disorders caused by this type of effort are not the only elements to take into account. Technically, there are still things to know to get through it as well as possible. When faced with a slope, especially if it is steep, we are much more efficient as dancers. The anterior thigh muscles are first of all richer in fast fibres, therefore more explosive. Standing on the pedals, they are the ones that are called upon first. The glutes, also very powerful, the calves, are also more solicited. Problem: when dancing, it is complicated to erase the upper and lower dead points of the pedaling cycle. But by swinging the bike from right to left, thanks to a good grip on the handlebars, we use our body weight by pushing alternately on each pedal. This requires tone in the arms, but also good upper body strengthening (abdominals, lower back, etc.) to limit energy loss.

The steeper the slope, the more you tend to crash into your machine, bend your arms and curl up into a ball. On the contrary, you should stay as straight as possible, with your elbows bent at a maximum of 45°, to really use your lower back and glutes. The dancing position is not always easy for many cyclists, especially beginners. Practice this technical move in perfect coordination over a few sessions. At first, avoid steep slopes and find the right cadence between swings from right to left. It is often said that going up while dancing increases your heart rate, but this is actually due to a lack of habit and relaxation. In a wall, in any case, you don't have much choice if you want to get through as efficiently as possible.

Then all that remains is to determine the right gear. Be careful not to aim too short, precisely because of this coordination that you need to find. It is a kind of estimate in relation to the steepness of the slope, its length and the intensity of the effort. If you put too big, you risk getting stuck halfway up the slope. If you put too small, you will suffocate and lose the pedals in terms of coordination. Thanks to the brake levers with integrated gear changes, do not hesitate to change the gear during the effort. Take advantage of the momentum, if there is one, to start climbing with a medium gear, even if it means going up a tooth or two later. Do some trial and error in training to get to know yourself better in these conditions and when faced with the percentagetage. TestCheck your equipment to find out how it reacts, especially when it comes to gear changes during exercise. In fact, under the tension of the chain, it is likely that the gears will struggle to shift. It will creak, it will jump, and you will quickly find yourself with your foot on the ground. Then it will be impossible to set off again. You have to plan everything, understand everything, so as to never be caught off guard. 

In a peloton

Going over walls in training means you don't have to worry about it anymore.tagnot at the foot of the slope once the race or event has arrived. It's psychological. Within a peloton, there are still other factors to take into account. You are ready, you have worked on your PMA, improved your dancing technique, adjusted your derailleurs well, 20% slopes no longer scare you. But in a race, on a cyclosportive or during a hike, you must take into account your companions route before approaching this famous wall. A priori, few gaps form when passing a wall, because the distance is small and the speed of each of the participants is relatively low. But If you are poorly positioned at the foot of the wall within the peloton, you risk being hindered by other cyclists. You may take all your precautions, but that's not necessarily the case for everyone. In every peloton in the world, there are dizzy people who derail, who get stuck, who ride in zigzags... Managing your effort is all the easier when you ride in the best positions, that is to say at the front. But above all, find out about the topography of the top of the hill, the state of the terrain.

If you lose 50 meters during the ascent on the first ones and the summit is directly followed by a descent, you have every chance of catching up easily. But if, at the top of the hump, the route is flat and clear, the 50 meters will turn into 200 meters, and you will no longer be safe. Regarding gear change management, take care to shift to the small chainring before you find yourself at the steepest point of the slope, ideally about fifty meters before really entering the bump. Don't shift too small from the bottom, go up the teeth one by one. At the top, reverse the operation, pick up enough speed before shifting back to the big chainring, because the operation can be tricky with a pedaling frequency that is too low. You are now ready to tackle all the steep climbs, it's up to you now!

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