CoachingAnswer

WHY CAN'T I HOLD POWER ON REPEATED CLIMBS?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 26 May 2026

ANSWER

Power fades across repeated climbs mainly because riders overcook the early ascents — going 10–15% too hard on climbs one and two drains the anaerobic battery that climbs four and five depend on. Under-fuelling and a thin aerobic base compound it. The fix is pacing every climb to the same sustainable number rather than chasing the same feeling, and training the repeatability to recover between efforts.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The main cause is over-pacing the early climbs — you spend the battery before the climbs that decide the day.
Each climb above your sustainable power drains your W' reserve, which only refills on the descents and flats.
Under-fuelling turns a pacing problem into a glycogen problem — the fade comes earlier and harder.
Pace to a power number, not to the group or the feel — the same RPE means a higher cost each time you climb.

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The sportive rider on a multi-climb route

You're strong on the first two climbs of a hilly day and visibly fade on the last ones, every time.

The racer dropped on the decisive late climb

The selection happens on the final ascent and you've already emptied the tank on the earlier ones.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

This is one of the most common and most fixable problems on any hilly route. You feel great on the first climb, strong on the second, and by the fourth or fifth you're crawling, watching wheels drift away, convinced you're just not fit enough. Here's what nobody tells you: the fade on the late climbs was usually caused by what you did on the early ones. You spent power you couldn't afford when it felt easy.

Andrew Feather, the amateur hill-climb champion who beat Pogačar at his own challenge, has talked about exactly this discipline — knowing your sustainable climbing power and refusing to exceed it, even when the legs feel good and the group surges. The riders who hold power across repeated climbs aren't the ones who go hardest early. They're the ones who pace every climb to the same number, so the last one is no worse than the first. It's counterintuitive and it's where most amateur climbing days are lost.

There's a mechanism underneath it that Alex Welburn's critical-power work makes concrete: every climb above your sustainable ceiling draws down a finite anaerobic battery that only recharges on the descents and flats. Overcook climbs one and two and the battery's empty before the climb that matters. Dan Lorang's World Tour framing rounds it out — fuel matters as much as pacing, because a depleted rider can't refill the battery at all. The fade isn't a fitness verdict. It's a pacing-and-fuelling problem you can fix this month.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Andrew FeatherFour-time British National Hill Climb Champion
Holding power across repeated climbs comes down to pacing discipline — knowing your sustainable climbing power and refusing to exceed it on the early efforts, even when the legs feel strong. Riders who match the group's surges on the first climbs almost always pay for it on the last ones.
Hear it: How an Amateur Beat Pogačar | Roadman Cycling Podcast
Dan LorangHead of Performance, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
Repeated high-intensity efforts deplete both the anaerobic reserve and muscle glycogen. A rider who paces the early climbs too hard, or arrives under-fuelled, cannot recover between efforts — the power simply isn't there on the later climbs no matter how hard they try. Pacing and fuelling are the two levers, not raw fitness.
Hear it: 13 Years Of Coaching Pros: What Amateurs Don't Know

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Set a climbing power ceiling and hold it on every climb
Calculate 90–95% of FTP and treat it as your cap for every climb on a multi-climb day — not a target you exceed when you feel good. Watch the power number, not the rider next to you. The discipline on climb one is what preserves climb five.
Fuel proactively across the whole ride
Take 60g of carbohydrate per hour from 30–45 minutes in, before the climbs start biting. The anaerobic battery can only recharge if there's glycogen to do it with — arriving at the later climbs depleted guarantees the fade no matter how well you pace.
Train the demand with repeated climbing intervals
On a training climb, do 4–5 efforts of 4–6 minutes at threshold pace with the descent as recovery, holding the same power on the last rep as the first. This rehearses both the pacing discipline and the physiological repeatability the route demands.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKEPacing each climb by feel instead of by power.
FIXThe same effort costs more each time you climb because fatigue accumulates. Pace to a power number and accept that the later climbs will feel harder at the same watts — that's normal and correct.
MISTAKEMatching the group's surge on the early climbs.
FIXLet them go and ride your ceiling. On a multi-climb day the riders who surged early are the ones you'll pass on the final ascent. Spending the battery early is the single most common cause of late fade.
MISTAKEBlaming fitness and adding more training volume.
FIXFix pacing and fuelling first. A rider who fades on repeated climbs from over-pacing doesn't need more fitness — they need to spend the fitness they have more intelligently across the day.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is power fade on repeated climbs a fitness problem?

Usually not. It's most often a pacing problem — going too hard on the early climbs and draining the anaerobic reserve — compounded by under-fuelling. Genuine fitness limits exist, but for most amateurs the fade is fixable through pacing and fuelling before any extra training is needed.

How do I pace repeated climbs in a sportive?

Set a power ceiling at 90–95% of FTP and hold it on every climb, regardless of how good the early ones feel. Accept that later climbs feel harder at the same watts. The goal is for your last climb's power to match your first, not to be fastest early and fade.

Why do my legs feel fine but my power drops on later climbs?

Perceived effort and actual power decouple under accumulated fatigue. You can feel like you're pushing hard while the wattage quietly falls — a sign your anaerobic reserve and glycogen are running low. Watching the power number, not the feeling, is the only reliable check.

Does fuelling really affect power on repeated climbs?

Significantly. Each hard climb draws on muscle glycogen, and the anaerobic reserve can only recharge between climbs if glycogen is available. Riders who fuel 60g of carbohydrate per hour from early in the ride hold power far better across repeated climbs than those who wait until they feel empty.

What training fixes power fade on climbs?

Repeated climbing intervals at threshold pace — 4–5 efforts of 4–6 minutes with the descent as recovery, holding equal power across all reps — rehearse both the pacing discipline and the physiological repeatability. Combine with a solid aerobic base so the reserve recharges efficiently.

How is this different from power fading on long flat rides?

On long flat rides the fade is usually pure glycogen depletion over time. On repeated climbs it's that plus the draining and incomplete recharging of the anaerobic reserve with each above-threshold effort. The climbs add a pacing dimension — overcooking the early ones is the distinctive cause here.

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HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS

How an Amateur Beat Pogačar | Roadman Cycling Podcast

13 Years Of Coaching Pros: What Amateurs Don't Know

5 Fixable Climbing Mistakes | Roadman Cycling Podcast