How can I improve my hill cycling?
To get better at riding hills, you really need to be riding hills. You could try some hill repeats whereby you perhaps do a circuit course that involves a climb, a recovery, and then a climb again and repeat.
The mistake that many beginners make is trying to tackle hills by turning over too high a gear and then trying to shift down the gears by which time much of their momentum has been lost. As a rule, it is better to be under-geared than over-geared when tackling a hill.
The key to climbing is to pace and ride within yourself so that you have that bit more available should you need to call upon it. Try and remain seated for the majority of the climb, only riding out the saddle for shorter periods, when you feel the need. If it’s a short climb and you can see the top then you can go a little more hard to reach the summit.
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