Coachingsarah & anthony

THESE MISTAKES ARE RUINING YOUR CLIMBING (EASY FIX) | RIDER SUPPORT

Name: These Mistakes Are Ruining Your Climbing (Easy Fix) | Rider Support
Uploaded: 2024-10-07
Duration: 33 min 41 s
Description: Climbing doesn't come down to power-to-weight ratio alone—pacing, gear selection, and mental strategy play just as big a role in how fast you'll go uphill.

with Rider Support

33:41·7 October 2024

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FTP TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS

Climbing doesn't come down to power-to-weight ratio alone—pacing, gear selection, and mental strategy play just as big a role in how fast you'll go uphill. We break down the biggest mistakes cyclists make on climbs and how to fix them, plus tackle some heated talking points from this weekend's World Championships and dive deep into finding your ideal cadence.

Key Takeaways

Pace your climbs like a time trial: aim for linear pacing (consistent effort throughout) rather than attacking hard at the start and suffering halfway up
Match your cadence to your training: if you normally ride 75-85 RPM but drop to 55 on climbs, your muscles will lock up—practice sustained higher cadences in training
Gear selection matters as much as power: being overgeared forces your muscular system to work harder than your cardiovascular system can sustain
Break long climbs into smaller mental chunks (500m at a time, or picking a tree 100m ahead) rather than focusing on the total distance to the top
Train specifically for climbs you struggle with: deconstruct what the climb actually demands (duration, gradient, cadence) and replicate that in training
A proper bike fit and comfortable saddle can significantly raise your sustainable cadence without any fitness gains

Expert Quotes

"You can have power nailed, you can have pacing nailed, but if you're overworking your muscular system you're still going to lock up at some point."

"I'm probably have more in the tank than I think I do and I'm almost afraid to push myself beyond a certain limit—people do kind of put these self limiters on themselves particularly when they're climbing."

"If you can head out for an hour, two hour, three hour ride and you're not forcing that cadence, I would call that self-selected cadence—then you know what feels right for you."

KEY QUOTES

“if you're training 95% of your time in an Optimum Cadence of 75 to 85 and then you hit a climb and your Cadence drops to 55 it's really difficult I do occasionally strength efforts at a coach Alan Davis Australian when me Lance and rmo used to call them strengthes so do strengthes where it's like an 8 minute effort at 50 Cadence in zone three that's a super hard effort a low Cadence so the lower Cadence has a different physical toll on the body as well”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“as a general guideline it's going to be most efficient to write in a Cadence range of 885 to 95 RPM that range is going to allow for good muscle efficiency without overloading your cardiovascular system however finding that Cadence Choice it is very personal and it's going to depend on your Fitness level”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“there is a rule says it's UCI rule rule 22007 a rider jumping onto a sidewalker endangering the public or or the Riders must be disqualified immediately and there is precedent for Riders getting disqualified for this before Luke row if you think all the way back to Ron vom blandin 2018 was disqualified and Marlin roster was disqualified in 2024 against Vellum”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT3 SECTIONS

Biggest Climbing Mistakes and Pacing

Welcome to this week's rer support this week we're going to talk about match Vander Paul's bunny hop up onto the sidewalk and should he've been disqualified we're going to talk about how to choose your perfect Cadence not as easy as You' think but first I want to talk about the biggest mistakes people have made on climbs and how you can fix those Sarah question one what have you got from me okay Anthony I've been struggling on climbs lately and I feel like I'm not improving my weight is part of the issue but I just feel like I have no strategy when it comes to climbing and get dropped every time by guys I know I'm at least equally fit to what are the biggest mistakes cyclists make on climb make cyclists make on climbs and how can I correct them to get faster and more efficient on those tough asense and that's from Ronin everyone wants to break climbing down as it's just a par to weight ratio and it is just a par to weight ratio but it's also not cuz that's an oversimplification of the process is like add more power be Lo okay fine but there's anything else outside those two things you can do to get a little bit faster I think one of them is like the pacing I'm talking a lot with time TR experts recently and if you're doing a 10 mile time TR if you Pace the 10 mile time TR wrong you you're not going to get your best time you need to approach a climent the exact same way it's like how can you get from point A being the bottom to point B the top in the fastest time possible and that's most likely going to be a linear pacing strategy so it's just this hard at the bottom as it is at the top do you remember one of the first times we went out cycl when we were in canale down in the south of Ireland and you approached to climb like you hadn't got a power meter you didn't know anything about power but you literally rolled the first 10 seconds of the climb at 800 watts and then the next five minutes of the climb and you had push me 12 Watts you to push me my bike was going to topple over if you didn't kind of give me a little bit of a pushup but yeah I had no clue about pacing or how to maintain a you a stainable effort throughout the whole thing that's so important isn't it and a couple of summers ago I was doing a leading a a group of newbies and like that it was just they would completely attack any little rise th Watts at the bottom and blow their lights in by the time they got even halfway up the rise or the climb so it's something a lot of people get wrong and there's a few ways you can do it you can do like you where you learned a hard way where you so experience you start figuring out our local climbs roughly 10 minutes so I kind of know if I want to do a full gas effort on that how to Pace that 10-minute effort but if you're more advanced you will have a heart rate monitor you'll go okay I know if I'm at 180 beats inside the first two three minutes of this 10-minute climb I'm in trouble over the top so you start to Pace it off your heart rate and then probably the most advanced way is pacing it off a parameter you'll know what power you can put out for 10 minutes and that's going to get you there some of the other stuff though that people fall down on is gear choice you can have power nailed you can have pacing nailed but but if you're overworking your muscular system you're still going to lock up at some point like if you're training 95% of your time in an Optimum Cadence of 75 to 85 and then you hit a climb and your Cadence drops to 55 it's really difficult I do occasionally strength efforts at a coach Alan Davis Australian when me Lance and rmo used to call them strengthes so do strengthes where it's like an 8 minute effort at 50 Cadence in zone three that's a super hard effort a low Cadence so the lower Cadence has a different physical toll on the body as well so like anticipating the gradient changes and having appropriate gear selection for those gradient changes is going to mean you're not getting overgeared for any parts of it like I think if you can get a Cadence out of you in the north of 75 range it's normally kind of optimum you know the higher the better probably up to a ceiling of 95 hard and a climb I find that really difficult particularly with my cad my my gearing ratio on the bike at the moment that to keep those really high Cadence Cadence on a climb I feel it's almost impossible I'm grinding the hway up so that could be something to look at as well if you want to make your climbing a bit more comfortable last week I unfortunately had The Misfortune of bringing my gravel bike out on The Rance bin tough day tough day at the office but um I do always find on my gravel bike because I've got more options of easier gears when I'm climbing that I I've got I'm spinning the legs way more comfortably and it does help so definitely something to look at there a mental approach to climate as well I think people a lot of time focus on how overwhelming The Climb is instead of breaking it into smaller more manageable chunks and saying okay I'm going to get through this first 500 meters I'm going to get through the second 500 meters they're just so daunted by the totality of it they keep worrying about how much is left and they don't get into a rhythm on the climb so I think it's more important to focus on the rhythm you're in rather than how far it is to the top yes sometimes when I'm climbing I will just pick a tree that's 100 MERS away and be like okay just just get there and then see how you feel after get there if I'm really really struggling that's kind of what I'll do what I will say on the mental approach side of it is you do have to dig deep and I've found this since I've kind of really been knuckling down in my training over the last couple of weeks is that I'm probably have more in the tank than I think I do and I'm almost afraid to push myself Beyond a certain limit and people do kind of put these self limiters on themselves particularly when they're climbing because they think oh my heart rate's at 175 this is scary I'm going to blow I feel awful I I'm not used to this but you do kind of have to push through and also don't need to ride every climb fall gas era like this something people fall into and you fall into this a little bit on occasion where you think you need to ride every climb in zone four you can ride up a climb zone two as well you just need to that stuff pace yourself use your gears keep focus on your heart rate and on your power like the part is as well that people do miss is you can train specifically for a climb if there's a climb like we do basically the same route every week on the road man Spin and if there's a climb in particular that you were struggling on that you could in the exact same way someone would prepare for if I was coaching an athlete and they said they're getting ready for a cyc cross race or a hill climb or Criterium championships you could de deconstruct what the climb actually is okay it's a six minute effort what type of gradients what type of cadence and train that specifically I think that's a good way way to approach it if you're using it same climb all the time yeah if you're using the same route all of the time yeah there's loads of stuff you can do there's nothing really that you can do in regards to drafting is there on climbs it's more a psychological too slow I think for it to matter drafting if it's a fast Big Ring climb like north of 205 kilm an hour maybe just a draft and effect just a mental component but it swings both ways I think it's nice sometimes to be setting your own pace versus following as well transform your indoor cycling with ruvie the platform that brings Real World Roots an augmented reality to your training whether you're preparing for a big event or you're just looking to explore Ruby lets you experienced legendary rids like altoz and Paso D stelvio from the comfort of your home Ruby's unique augmented reality technology uses real life video and GPS data to create the most realistic cycling experience available you'll feel every climb descent and Horn with precise terrain replication giving you an authentic outdoor ride indoors plus with ar elements like avatars and Banners the ride really feels totally immersive and interactive with over 1500 routes and 25,000 km the world's most iconic cycling destinations Ruby is perfect for cyclists of all levels whether you want to enjoy scenic routes participa in group rids or push your limits with Advanced Training plans ruy has you covered ruy also offers flexible pricing allowing you to pause your subscription or choose duo or group plans to share the experience from exploring new places to Serious training ruy has something for every cyclist ready to ride the world visit ruby.com and start your journey today best of luck climbing is one of those it's it's an art it's definitely a dark science I think okay next question Anthony I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this one should Machi vanderpol have been kicked out of the world championship race at the weekend he blatantly hopped onto a curb and was very close to hitting a spectator what I actually couldn't believe was that the camera kept replaying it like it was some feat of bike handling and that it should be admired well I'm sure matchie vanderpol was pretty confident that he wouldn't hit that spectator as his bike skills are crazy isn't this something we should be clamping down on in Pro Racing it's a dangerous enough sport as it is it's against the rules is the short answer to it it there is a rule says it's UCI rule rule 22007 a rider jumping onto a sidewalker endangering the public or or the Riders must be disqualified immediately and there is precedent for Riders getting disqualified for this before Luke row if you think all the way back to Ron vom blandin 2018 was disqualified and Marlin roster was disqualified in 2024 against Vellum so it does happen now the question is are you going to disqualify the reigning world champion out of the chase group with 20 kilometers to go in the world championships it's a big big call from a commissar it's a huge call I think uh so we did see that the uh Lan cycling Federation wrote an open letter to the UCI complaining that this had happened and in that letter they did say this is it's from sandis Aus who's the president of the lafan cycling Federation so after the race they went up to the commer the UCI commer and made a very public complaint that this had happened and it obviously quite literally happened and was basically was told it said in the letter the commissar argued that it wouldn't be good for the sport and that they get to interpret the rules as they see fit but it's but maybe there is this like I haven't read the whole UCI set of rules maybe there is another rule in there that like all these rules are subject to what is the good of the sport and then that's a separate argument is it for is there an argument that keeping match vandero in the race is for the good I been good every spectator apart from maybe the lafans would have been good like Tom squeen came Fort and that's the problem here that he's just out with the medals by vanderpal but you can't disqualify him retrospectively it happens instantly or it can't happen at all totally agree yeah nothing he impacts the race nothing is going to happen here but the rules do I don't think that they get to be interpreted as per each Comm I think that's really unfair I mean if you have a commer who is Dutch for instance he's going to look at a completely different as an Irish commer because you know we were chatting um during the race about all the times that Ben Healey was closed down because of moves by mat vanderpal so you know it does definitely affect the outcome of the race if somebody is breaking the rules and having an advantage and the rule basically is that you can't go on the the sidewalk you can't endanger anybody and of course that's allowed if it's you know if you're trying to avoid a crash or something like that but that wasn't the instance in this this case but like the commissars are humans they're followable like how hard was it to get a penalty at all Trafford during the early 2000s when they were the best team in the world the very hard the thing is I think that these these things are happening in the patan in racing and we're seeing riders or this is happening but we're not seeing it all the time but this was just such an obvious one that we saw when it happened and as I said they kind of replayed it I agree with with this this listener that they replayed it over and over and over again and it was just a little bit shocking I I know that Riders you know how much responsibility do Riders have to put their best foot forward you know but there's young cyclists watching that and mat he's not thinking about that in the moment he's boxed in he's trying to close and attack yeah but match vano was already in the rainbow uh Jersey and he has you know his standards that he should keep and I I agree at the time I think he should have been disqualified yeah just commissar is like he has to act instantly on it and if you don't you need you need some nerve to disqualify vandero instantly there so I can totally see why he wasn't I wouldn't disqualified him I wouldn't have had the Nerf he didn't even get a fine for jumping on the curb um and that's usually about2 200 to th000 EUR so he didn't get fined at all for that so I don't know it's a it's it's one to watch okay next question hi Anthony and Sarah Sarah brought up the Cadence subject in previous conversation and I thought we would all benefit from opening up some important questions as to how to find the right Cadence for me how to maintain Cadence during riding without seeing numbers on the display and how cadences affect power retention over time also is it correct to maintain a constant Cadence even when on a mountain bike near my house there is a single trail with lots of difficult and Technical climes and flowing are Steep and Technical desense so is it necessary and how to maintain Cadence on such a tough course course so this actually question came in through YouTube on our last riter support we did touch on Cadence and there was a lot of questions and underneath that video around Cadence so it does seem to be something that flab ask people I think Cadence varies from when I we speak about this I'm really talking about Road Cadence gravel Cadence pretty much gravel Cadence but it's mainly Road Cadence I think it varies from roer to Rider but as a general guideline it's going to be most efficient to write in a Cadence range of 885 to 95 RPM that range is going to allow for good muscle efficiency without overloading your cardiovascular system however finding that Cadence Choice it is very personal and it's going to depend on your Fitness level people when they're getting started find it really difficult to maintain those Cadence levels it's going to also depend on the terrain if you're on a super undulating terrain it's very hard to Pedal the downhills and your Cadence is naturally going to be lower on the uphill so you're going to come home and maybe a little bit disappointed with your Cadence if you're on that rolling terrain you can experiment with your Cadence when you're out like try pushing and having a goal to have a Cadence that's slightly higher on a session a goal to have a Cadence that's slightly lower and see what's most comfortable for you a good indication of a suitable Cadence for you is when you can maintain it over a long duration if you can head over for a an hour two hour three hour ride and you're not forc in that Cadence I would call that self- selected Cadence then maintaining without a display something I used to have to do before Cadence Cadence isn't like that hasn't been around forever and used to have these like really fidgety magnets and you put one magnet on the inside of your pedal crank and another magnet on your frame and count of things going by so I ended up just counting my Cadence how many times my left knee came up in a 15sec period and then multiply it by four to give me my rotations per minute you can do like simple mats like that when you're out on the bike to know roughly what your Cadence is without your display and once you've done that a couple of times you kind of know what it feels like to be in an 80 Cadence or an 90 Cadence or whatever but gear selection I think is a huge part of it like if you feel like your legs are slowing down you likely need to shift down to an easier gear if you feel like your legs are losing resistance like it feels like the chain is already almost off you need to drop it down the block a little bit uh what was this other part of question about mountain biking uh I think mountain biking especially if you're on single track it's very different all bets are off there on the trails it's going to be you know difficult technical steep climbs the sense maintain the constant Cadence is basically 100 m you know 50 m on M it's going to be possible so no that's not something you should have spored onik yeah look this is something that I've struggled with ever since I've gotten on the bike my Cadence was naturally at about 70 when I started cycling my old coach Aaron it was something we worked on together and when I come home from right now I was like oh Anthony I got my Cadence up to 79 my average 79 you're like oh that's still really really low but this is something that I've been working on for a long time the one thing I will say is that you are using two different systems right so you're using your muscular system for really heavy Cadence I know this is quite simplified and you're using your cardiovascular system if you're in a higher Cadence so what tires out quicker the muscles in your legs I mean they're going to lose energy and deplete your heart and your lungs will go forever that's kind of the way I think about it so we kind of want to rely more on the heart lung system so yeah I do find that I will have better energy if I'm cycling at a higher Cadence right a ride my energy is kind of you know more stable throughout the entire ride but I do have to look at my Cadence monitor on my on my parameter and like literally eyeball it every couple of minutes because I still haven't gotten used to being at that higher Cadence just before you jump in one of the big problems that start for me was that my bike didn't fit me properly and I was getting really really uncomfortable on the side say that saddle changing your saddle made a huge difference for you huge difference so I was staying in a much lower Cadence because the pressure on my saddle was too much when I was in I find that on the indoor bike as well the saddle on our indoor bike is horrible yeah and I find it my Cadence is lower as a result really okay yeah so there you go so make sure and watch out for that really good bike it will I mean it's it's just uh IM immeasurable the advantages of getting a good bike fit okay hi Anthony love the show I was oh sorry that was the old question hey roadman I had a crash two days ago and hit my head pretty hard I didn't lose Consciousness but I've been feeling off since then some headaches and dizziness I'm worried I might have concussion what should I look out for and how do I know if I need to see a doctor also what's the best way to handle recovery if I do have one concussion is something I've regrettably had at least once I definitely had one concussion that was like a a bad concussion where I had a lot of these symptoms after I had a crash in the rust the T of Ireland over here and I can't even remember that much about it I was knocked out totally a couple of days in the hospital and like the I'm going to say two months three months afterwards were really bad I struggled to be in social situations where it was very crowded because I couldn't focus on more than one like flow of conversation I could talk one-on one to you but if there was noise in the background it was drowning out my ability to tune in and filter out other conversations I was getting headaches on it and these aren't symptoms unique to me headaches dizziness nausea vomiting sensitivity to Lo blur vision difficulty concentrating or kind of feeling brain fog memory problems confusion irritability mood swing sleep disturbances any of those I think you need to be going to a doctor and getting proper medical advice and not get medical advice off that's I was just saying this this is from uh John John please before you Rite into a podcast there's so many even in if you're in it's very hard to get doctor's appointments I do understand that you can go online and get an online appointment or something it's really important if you're having headaches and dizziness could have some even more acute problems that are worse than the concussion in the like concussions maybe something I would think about as not in the acute phase like you could have like a bleed on the brain which needs to be just instantly treated and you need to get in to get your skull drilled to relieve pressure concussion is something that's a longer tail to it which is you know no less like traumatic and stuff but it's not as accute and doesn't need to be treated like instantly I think it's get scanned we are so excited to announce that we are partnering with whoop whoop are changing the game when it comes to wearable technology and health monitoring whoop is a wearable health and fitness coach that provides you with feedback and actionable insights into your sleep your recovery your training your stress and your overall health Sarah and I have been using for years and we love the insights it provides into our body's inner workings it really gives us a look under the hood and you're going to see Matthew vanderp PA Richard carass and other Elite level cyclist wearing wo but it isn't just for those Superstars all the 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Concussion Risks and Bicarb Gels

Whoop.com roadman I'm going to pop that in the description below and you're going to get a free month's access to whoop membership on me I promise you won't regret it yeah go and get if you hit your head at all that's why anybody who goes to AE who has a head injury will be seen straight away also good way to skip the Q&A and yeah exactly tell them you hit your head there's so many long as you said longtail you know effects of concussion I mean we there's so many instances of even football players in America who you know end up with serious mental health issues concussions gets worse like it gets worse and worse and worse so John please I employ you to call your I'm going to email this person back straight away and be like don't wait till Friday till this podcast comes out but also like we've seen good Riders Taco Vander Horn's back and he won a race there only two days ago last Wednesday he won a 1.1 and he's been off the bike with a concussion for over a year but even closer to home on the domestic front we one of Ireland's most promising Riders Matthew devans is out for almost two years with a concussion and every time he gets back training and he's feeling sick again and it's massively frustrating because it's not an injury you can see where it's like oh he has a broken collar bone like we know how to talk to him like people think you've just lost it or you've gone soft or you know it's passed you by but it's like actually I'm struggling with something you can't see which is a lot harder for the athlet totally agree I totally agree okay next question hi Anthony love the show I was watching Worlds at the weekend and saw that Michael Woods was caught on camera eating from a tupperware container I saw in the media after that it was bicarbonate gel what's the benefit of this is it something a Catu 36-year-old rer should consider I have to admit I never even heard of it before and that's from miles it the video like as you say caught Michael Woods it's not like he was trying to hide it the video showed Michael Woods early in the race eating from a tuw container everyone online thought he was eating porridge he was eating oats cuz it's such a long race they're like woodsies after I skipping breakfast and he's at the back wouldn't be know for his b canding eater with two hands off the bars eating from a tupperware container with a spoon but it's it's bicarbonate gel from Morton is what he's eating and it buffers lactate the problem is it only lasts for five hours and with the race been so long he couldn't have it on the bus like you normally would before I've used it on the track in the past you would use like really crude bicarbonate soda like you'd use for bacon and it wrecks your stomach place you just have it in a p as in a past it up or just few ways spoon mix it up into drink knock it back you can micro do it or you can macroo like macro do take a big chunk of it on the day of competition or you can take smaller amounts leading up to the competition track Pursuits and stuff have used it for a long time time trist have used for a long time but it's horrible on your gastro track like a lot of people get the shits from taking it so Ries haven't typically used it because your event isn't like if it's five six hours you might need to stop for a which is you know more than offset and the benefit of it yeah but how it kind of works is it neutralizes the hydrogen ions that are produced during High inity exercise and that can help with helps reducing the buildup of lactate in the muscles delaying the onset of fatigue and it's especially beneficial this is from Morton's website for short intense bursts of exercise such as during climbs or Sprints where acid accumulation can rapidly impair performance so would you take this just before you're going on track like is it does it start working immediately you just take it the morning of the morning of if you'd erase a couple of hours later and it would kind of have kicked in at that stage and the last for hours I haven't used this Morton one it's like a weird jelly paste stuff and they're saying that it doesn't have the same gastral problems as just using the old baking soda stuff but it's also not cheap so it's like a 36y old I read that I'm like a 36 CH he's a bit old for that I'm like wa he's way younger than I am why don't you in your head 21 so yeah I don't know give it a blast and see try out Trina first why not try it yeah come yourself okay next question hey Road man crew I'll be watching the gravel World Champs in Belgium this weekend and was blown away by the intensity of the racing last year what should we as amateur gravel writers learn from how the pros handle such a technical and tough course before I answered this something we were talking about last week end for the world road race it would be cool in we're obviously based in Dublin it would be cool to get a venue in Dublin to do like watch parties stuff watch party that like for cycl cross all the classics like everyone's just watching the races at home on their own like you do your group ride and then we came home watch it on the couch and you know I'm sure everyone listened to this podcast tuned into the worlds last week so yeah if anyone has an idea for a cool venue in Dublin that we could do a watch party let us know yeah for the classics even when they kind of kick off that would be amazing amazing this uh this listener said that what should we as amateur gravel Riders learn from having the pros handle such a technical and tough course I don't know about that I've had a little look at the course and a lot of the um the the organizer saying it's 60% gravel but a lot of the Australian or sorry the American Pro gravel Riders have decided not to come first of all because they are they were told that they would have to sell fund it so they're not they got Anno last year they're they well they said they're going to sell self funded but also they said that the course is set up uh for Ries and is only half gravel so they wouldn't be attending so that's quite interesting yeah look the gravel Pros look I'm a huge fan of what gravel Pros have done in carving out this new Niche and like I've given them so much air time in the podcast and I'll continue to do it but also we can't confuse like who the real athlete who the real best athletes in the world world tour if you look at last year's winners we had Cassian Yodo who won the Tour to France F this year and we had M mate mahit who was like an an extremely extremely powerful Road and we had Keegan swon the very very best dominant us gravel Rider like Untouchable on the US scene and he goes to the line with Alejandro Valverde who's retired four years and he gets beaten so it's like you know V can't go it in the world hor anymore like he's four years retired he's smoking cigars at home and sure and he's still beating snon not take Swenson he's an amazing Rider but the world tour guys are they're the creme the creme like they're the 1% of the 1% Ro man I'm going to date myself here but I've been riding the bike for almost 20 years and in that time I've cycled through every cycling apparel brand out there and I kept swapping out different apparel Brands each season until I found lall there's something really different about lall and as soon as you slip into the gear you notice it feels different it feels better I've had the pleasure of chatting with yanto Barker on the podcast he's the laal founder and his dedication to crafting the fastest most refined cycling apparel out there it's nothing short of inspiring yanto isn't just trying to create gear I get the feeling he's actively and obsessively trying to perfect cycling gear trust me as soon as you slip on the theall kit as soon as you zip up that Jersey you can feel that commitment the proof for the call it's in the pudding this is the same kit that Jay hindley wore when he clinched overall victory in theur Talia there's a confidence that comes with wearing a pearl that's been battle tested and Podium proven in races like theala trust me feeling good on the bike means you're going to perform better if you have a second I highly advise you to jump on over to lol.

Should UCI Run Gravel Worlds

CC and check out their amazing range of K and experience this feeling for yourself do you agree with the you know the USA kind of saying that you know this these UCI gravel routes especially in the worlds are not set up as gravel rid like there would be in America where you have these massive 200 300 km races and it's all gravel there's no Ash whatsoever so they're kind of intimating there that they think that these worlds are set up for the Ries to win them yeah I I haven't seen the start list but if you like it's going to be very hard for to beat the likes of vanderpol but if you think about the road Racers that go to Unbound like mate Mah went to Unbound this year and he had a a dnf because he had mechanical yeah so it's kind of I think the gravel World should be held in a in a on a route that is a little bit more grally and isn't 50% road but that's just my thought it's like also ucci do they need to be in gravel it's like I don't know it's a whole different the bate that's kind of what they did years ago with cyc Cross isn't it they let cyclocross become you know quite big and quite a cult following and then decided to really muscle in on it and it seems like the it's gravel is kind of going that way lifetime Grand Prix is all the coolest gravel races I love the guys attime as well they do an amazing job and I must guesso back on the podcast see what else they have up their sleeve for next season but yeah I don't think UCI and gravel need to be a thing just if you're especially if they're going to design a course for the Ries to win there needs to be the only way to gravel guys like you know swensson Lexi verol and Dylan Johnson how they can beat the Ries is none of those Lads would be in the world tour right now they need an element of chance in it like Unbound where you can take morich out of the game and chance married with the experience they have racing on that gives them an extra and that's kind of goes to answering this guy's question what can the amateurs learn from the pros like if you look at those top gravel Racers they're so tuned in and this is where they have the advantage from even the world tour Ries they're so tuned into the conditions of the course Tire choices Tire widths Tire grip tire pressure they're so tuned into that and they get tuned into that by diligently in meticulously pre-writing the courses so they know every section of the course they're also going to know where their fuel and how much they're fueling fuel stops are like Formula One stops for these guys so they're practicing that as well every aspect of their bike is going to be dial like if you follow Dylan Johnson's YouTube channel which is brilliant he's constantly taking his felt carbon bike apart and he's putting new Forks on it new handlebars on it the worldour guys don't do this they just give the B the mechanic to get it back they might change her set on the back rub might have a special setup but every race is a special bike setup for these amateurs obviously aren't going to drop the same cash that the pros are on equipment but I think you can just be more dialed in and cognizant rather than just showing up to the race thinking it's a race is another race each gravel event is totally unique and by preparing for it and having a plan and executing on that plan you give yourself a good bit of an edge on the competition I will definitely be tuning in because I'm not ready for cycling racing to be over for the season Lasha kapaki is going to be racing it's her first ever gravel race she's never done a gravel race ever she's yeah she probably will win she's just the new uh World Champ so it' be great to see her racing and apparently there's one wild card spot being kept for machie Vander Poole on the Dutch gravel worlds team that Lawrence tand s us man last week yeah so he's coming he's going to be on the podcast in a couple of May in a couple of weeks we'll be releasing that one but he is Rider manager so it'll be interesting to see how he goes Lawrence tandam can certainly uh he's riding as well he didn't know manager yeah he's in good shape uh yeah a good chat with him about the T and yeah just don't do it was basically his message or definitely don't try and do lack L's time on it he just fell apart completely I think that's all our questions for today that's it for today h Roman thank you for tuning in if you enjoyed this episode you can check out last week's episode of ruter support where we talk about lack Morton and his potential round the world record and that's up here please don't forget to subscribe to the channel as Sarah said Lawrence tendam episode is coming up plus we have loads more amazing stuff coming up down here to subscribe talk next day

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the most common mistake cyclists make when climbing?+

The most common mistake is poor pacing, specifically going too hard too early on a climb. Cycling coach Anthony Walsh recommends a linear pacing model where effort stays consistent from bottom to top, using perceived effort, heart rate, or power as your guide.

What cadence should you aim for when cycling uphill?+

Anthony Walsh recommends keeping cadence above 75 rpm on climbs. Dropping below this puts excessive load on the muscles and accelerates fatigue, so deliberate gear selection ahead of gradient changes is essential to maintain a smooth, efficient pedal stroke.

How do you mentally manage long climbs on a bike?+

Rather than fixating on the summit, break the climb into 500-metre segments and focus only on the next chunk. This approach reduces the psychological weight of a long ascent and helps you hold a steadier, more controlled pace throughout.

Does power-to-weight ratio determine how fast you climb?+

Power-to-weight ratio is a factor, but Anthony Walsh argues it does not tell the whole story. Pacing strategy, gear selection, and cadence management have a significant impact on climbing performance, regardless of what the numbers on a scale say.

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Key Takeaways

Pace your climbs like a time trial: aim for linear pacing (consistent effort throughout) rather than attacking hard at the start and suffering halfway up

Match your cadence to your training: if you normally ride 75-85 RPM but drop to 55 on climbs, your muscles will lock up—practice sustained higher cadences in training

Gear selection matters as much as power: being overgeared forces your muscular system to work harder than your cardiovascular system can sustain

Break long climbs into smaller mental chunks (500m at a time, or picking a tree 100m ahead) rather than focusing on the total distance to the top

Train specifically for climbs you struggle with: deconstruct what the climb actually demands (duration, gradient, cadence) and replicate that in training

A proper bike fit and comfortable saddle can significantly raise your sustainable cadence without any fitness gains

Expert Quotes

"You can have power nailed, you can have pacing nailed, but if you're overworking your muscular system you're still going to lock up at some point."

"I'm probably have more in the tank than I think I do and I'm almost afraid to push myself beyond a certain limit—people do kind of put these self limiters on themselves particularly when they're climbing."

"If you can head out for an hour, two hour, three hour ride and you're not forcing that cadence, I would call that self-selected cadence—then you know what feels right for you."

KEY QUOTES

“if you're training 95% of your time in an Optimum Cadence of 75 to 85 and then you hit a climb and your Cadence drops to 55 it's really difficult I do occasionally strength efforts at a coach Alan Davis Australian when me Lance and rmo used to call them strengthes so do strengthes where it's like an 8 minute effort at 50 Cadence in zone three that's a super hard effort a low Cadence so the lower Cadence has a different physical toll on the body as well”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“as a general guideline it's going to be most efficient to write in a Cadence range of 885 to 95 RPM that range is going to allow for good muscle efficiency without overloading your cardiovascular system however finding that Cadence Choice it is very personal and it's going to depend on your Fitness level”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“there is a rule says it's UCI rule rule 22007 a rider jumping onto a sidewalker endangering the public or or the Riders must be disqualified immediately and there is precedent for Riders getting disqualified for this before Luke row if you think all the way back to Ron vom blandin 2018 was disqualified and Marlin roster was disqualified in 2024 against Vellum”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the most common mistake cyclists make when climbing?+

What cadence should you aim for when cycling uphill?+

How do you mentally manage long climbs on a bike?+

Does power-to-weight ratio determine how fast you climb?+

THESE MISTAKES ARE RUINING YOUR CLIMBING (EASY FIX) | RIDER SUPPORT

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

Biggest Climbing Mistakes and Pacing

Concussion Risks and Bicarb Gels

Should UCI Run Gravel Worlds

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Key Takeaways

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Concussion Risks and Bicarb Gels

Should UCI Run Gravel Worlds

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Key Takeaways

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2.Concussion Risks and Bicarb Gels

3.Should UCI Run Gravel Worlds

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2.Concussion Risks and Bicarb Gels

3.Should UCI Run Gravel Worlds

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Biggest Climbing Mistakes and Pacing

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Biggest Climbing Mistakes and Pacing

Concussion Risks and Bicarb Gels

Should UCI Run Gravel Worlds