Originally Posted by
hambertloot
So how do the elite professional riders do it? is it just really strong leg power and/or EPO (well, of course, for most riders at the least)? I don't get when these people on forums or youtube say it is best to climb at 90+RPM when it is near impossible without years and years and years of training and/or EPO
It isn't about epo. It is about having power to burn.
fast cadences are excellent for the legs, they minimise muscle fatigue. But they are hard on the heart and lungs, they demand that you can cope with massive aerobic demands. This is no problem for the pros with their huge VO2 maxes. We are a different breed of cat. And even the pros don't really climb steep hills at > 90 rpms. Not many of them, anyway.