I did my first MTB race of the season last weekend and was severely limited by an inability to climb hills. Same thing happened to me during races last year. The problem in the MTB races is that after riding at lactate threshhold for 30min or so, my ability to climb is significantly reduced. I can hold my own on the flats and downhills, but get passed like I'm standing still on any uphills. I'm racing in MD, and most courses don't have huge hills, but they come pretty frequently.

I have good leg strength and am generally strong on hills during normal group training rides on the road. I have been riding all winter so have a solid base, and have been doing some training at LT and with anerobic intervals. I'd like to try to train specifically for this and am thinking of doing what Friel calls Crisscross training which is riding 3-4 min at low Zone 4, then 3-5 min at high Zone 5. Or, maybe more MTB specific crisscross training with shorter, 1-2 min intervals, may be a better match to the courses I'm racing. Or maybe just going out and riding as fast as I can on a similiar single track loop for 2x20 or 2x30 would be effective as well. Another thought is short, 1-3 min anaerobic intervals at low cadence.

Any other ideas?