Offers 10 tactics for maximizing hills

This is an excerpt from Cycling Fast. It's published with permission of Human Kinetics.

Climbs and descents make or break cycling races, according to cycling coach Robert Panzera. In his upcoming book, Cycling Fast (Human Kinetics, June 2010), Panzera covers hills and all elements that can make a cyclist faster, from conditioning to nutrition and key skills.

Panzera says even small climbs make a difference the closer a cyclist gets to the finish line. "Climbs are additive, meaning a 200-foot gain in elevation may not seem like much in the first few miles, but near the finish, it can seem like a mountain." He advises cyclists to take special note of hills toward the end of the race because these hills split the race into two groups-the leading group going for the win and the chasers trying to pick up the remaining places. In Cycling Fast, Panzera offers 10 tactics for managing hills and staying in the lead:

• Be near the front for corners that are followed immediately by hills. "This helps you prevent being gapped," explains Panzera.
• Shift to easier gears before approaching hills. "This prevents dropping the chain off the front chainrings when shifting from the big front ring to the small front ring," he notes. "Quickly go around riders who drop their chains."
  
• Close gaps on hills immediately, but with an even, steady pace. "Once the group starts riding away on a hill, it is nearly impossible to bring them back," Panzera warns.
• Keep the pace high over the crest of the hill, because the leaders will increase speed faster than the riders at the tail of the group.
• Relax and breathe deeply to control heart rate on climbs.
• Dig deep to stay in contact on shorter climbs. "Once a group clears the top, it is difficult to catch up on the descent," says Panzera.
• On longer climbs, ride at a consistent pace that prevents overexertion.
• Always start climbs near the front. If the pace becomes too fast, cyclists will be able to drop through the pack and still recover without losing contact with the pack.
• Hills are a good place to attack. "Know the hill's distance and location in the course before setting out on an attack or covering an attack by a competitor," advises Panzera.
• Try to descend near the front, but not on the front. Being near the front, as opposed to the back, gives cyclists a greater probability of avoiding crashes.

Panzera also advises noting all the descents before a race begins. "Long, straight descents may require work to stay in the draft, and twisty or narrow descents may require technical skills," Panzera says. "If the descent seems technical in review, it will definitely be technical at race speeds."

Cycling Fast covers the latest information on new high-tech racing frames, training with a power meter and heart rate monitor, and coordinating tactics as part of a team. Readers can learn how to periodize training and use the numerous tips, charts, and checklists to maximize effort.

In this terrific excerpt reprinted with permission from Human Kinetics, Championship Triathlon Training, you'll learn some brick training techniques and strategies.

Combination Training

This is an excellent excerpt reprinted with permission from Burke's book, High-Tech Cycling-2nd Edition.

"Most studies examining pedaling cadence have focused on pedal optimization in terms of economy/efficiency and local muscle stress. In this section, we will summarize the findings of the numerous laboratory studies that have attempted to identify which cadence is optimal. Unfortunately, few investigations have analyzed the question in well-trained cyclists riding their own bikes, making it difficult to apply the findings to actual cycling.

Optimal Cadence and Oxygen Cost: Economy/Efficiency
The two main messages to emerge from the numerous studies published since the beginning of the 20th century are as follows:

• Low cadences (50 to 60 rpm) tend to be more economical/efficient than high pedaling cadences (> 90 rpm)
• Paradoxically, most individuals prefer to pedal at high, theoretically inefficient/uneconomical cadences (examples include Boning, Gonen, and Maassen 1984; Cathcart, Richardson, and Campbell 1924; Chavarren and Calbet 1999; Coast, Cox, and Welch 1986; Croissant and Boileau 1984; Gaesser and Brooks 1975; Garry and Wishart 1931; Gueli and Shephard 1976; Jordan and Merrill 1979; MacIntosh, Neptune, and Horton 2000; Marsh and Martin 1997; Marsh and Martin 1998; Seabury, Adams, and Ramey 1977; Takaishi, Yasuda, and Moritani 1994; Takaishi et al. 1996; Takaishi et al. 1998).

A detailed look at the published studies suggests that both general conclusions need to be approached with caution. Several factors may alter the optimal and preferred pedaling cadence, including absolute and/or relative power output (i.e., watts or percentage maximal oxygen uptake [V·O2max], respectively), duration of exercise, test mode (cycle ergometer tests versus riding a bicycle on a treadmill), fitness level of the subject (cyclist or noncyclist), and the high interindividual variability, even among trained cyclists of similar fitness levels, reported by most authors.

In general, during laboratory tests performed by noncyclists at constant power outputs (usually = 200 W), pedaling at low rates (~ 50 to 70 rpm) resulted in