>  From Giovanni Battaglin, translated in Ed Pavelka's book "Italian
>  Racing Techniques".

Training for Climbing

The best training for climbing is to climb.  However, don't start
training in hilly terrain until you have accumulated 1,200 - 1,500 flat
miles.  Then start on short hills and work your way into longer and
steeper climbs.  All early season hills should be done with a steady
rhythm rather than jumps.  Don't jump, slack off, jump again, etc.

A technique I like when I feel ready to start forcing the pace is to
ride easy until the last quarter mile, then go hard to the top.  The
next time I ride that hill I might go hard the last half mile, then the
last 3/4 of a mile.

My advice - and this is what I practice myself - is to start a hill
with as slow a pace as possible (or as slow as you are allowed if it is
a race).  This will let you get accustomed to the rhythm of the hill
and to breathing with that rhythm.  The breathing of climbing changes
totally from on the flats, regardless of how hard you have been going.

Climbing requires a body rhythm and a pedaling rhythm as well as a
breathing rhythm.  It all has to be synchronized.  You develop the feel
for it by doing it in training.

If you want to specialize in climbing or try to improve it, train in
mixed terrain and emphasize the uphills.

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