Road Bike Racing - Hill Repeats and Racing Crits

This is my first year racing and I pretty much train with a few team mates most of the time.

Here's a quick example:
Sunday: Race or fast group ride(Flat)
Monday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Tuesday: Fast group ride then training crit(flat)
Wednesday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Thursday: Fast group ride then training crit(flat)
Friday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Saturday: Fast group ride(flat)


Since I've started racing crits I can count the number of times I've done any significant climbing on one hand. I would like to start doing hill repeats instead one of those fast group rides.

Question: Will I see any benefits of doing hill repeats this late in the season?

I tried climbing a small hill near my house that I've climbed for years and seemed like I just started riding the bike.. no power at all!!

How long is the hill (in minutes)? Looks like you have room for a structured ride in there, and VO2Max work would probably be nice (5-8 minute repeats).

When do you recover?

cdr

:lol: yeah, I was assuming those were possible rides on a given day -- hopefully that's the case!

You'll see the most benefit from doing what I like to refer to as couch-chair-fridge-bed intervals on Monday.

You'll see the most benefit from doing what I like to refer to as couch-chair-fridge-bed intervals on Monday.

Sounds funny, but you're right.

This is my first year racing and I pretty much train with a few team mates most of the time.

Here's a quick example:
Sunday: Race or fast group ride(Flat)
Monday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Tuesday: Fast group ride then training crit(flat)
Wednesday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Thursday: Fast group ride then training crit(flat)
Friday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Saturday: Fast group ride(flat)


Since I've started racing crits I can count the number of times I've done any significant climbing on one hand. I would like to start doing hill repeats instead one of those fast group rides.

Question: Will I see any benefits of doing hill repeats this late in the season?

I tried climbing a small hill near my house that I've climbed for years and seemed like I just started riding the bike.. no power at all!!

Wow, do you ever get a rest day?

I find that the hill repeats/VO2max stuff really helps. If your putting out the watts with sustained hard efforts you will still be able to climb. Almost all of my rides have some sort of climbing. 20 mile ride usually has about 1000ft. You should get a recovery day in there too, specially if you do the VO2 workouts.

This is my first year racing and I pretty much train with a few team mates most of the time.

Here's a quick example:
Sunday: Race or fast group ride(Flat)
Monday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Tuesday: Fast group ride then training crit(flat)
Wednesday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Thursday: Fast group ride then training crit(flat)
Friday: Decent pace 20 mile ride(solo)
Saturday: Fast group ride(flat)


Since I've started racing crits I can count the number of times I've done any significant climbing on one hand. I would like to start doing hill repeats instead one of those fast group rides.

Question: Will I see any benefits of doing hill repeats this late in the season?

I tried climbing a small hill near my house that I've climbed for years and seemed like I just started riding the bike.. no power at all!!

Try not beating yourself into a pulp on a daily/weekly basis, and you may improve.

I should've mentioned that those decent pace days often turn into rest days or just commuting to the gym and then to work. Really slow pace on my single speed.

The schedule above isn't set in stone since I'm married which means that I often miss a ride or two...

My guess is you don't miss as many rides as you think you do and "commuting" turns into "how fast can I get to work"... At least, that's how I was.

To answer the question, though, hill repeats are beneficial in many aspects, most of which have nothing to do with climbing hills. The only reason you use a hill to do them is because its easier to go hard on a hill than it is on rolling or flat terrain.

Next time you're in a crit, compare the effort it takes to accelerate (or keep pace) over a 3-5 minute hill to the effort it takes to bridge a gap. Feels about the same to me.