Ever heard of an "under-over" workout done at threshold or over? That's your ticket.

"Under" during the easier grades (the flatter part of a switchback) and "over" during the tougher grades (the steeper part of a switchback).

A set might be 9 minutes with 1u2o repeated 3x until hitting 9 minutes. Under might be done at 95 to 100% and the over from 100 to 110% or something.

Watch Gaimon go after a KOM. It might steady out for constant grades, but you'll notice him give more in sections and less in others.

I dial it up to 400 watts and keep that effort for the duration.

Oh please, if you want to ever matter, you have to dial it up to 470w now.

if it's a 30 minute climb does approaching it as fast as you can really help? sadly, for me, hills are about surviving. especially when it's hot

You can't now, but if you train yourself to get used to them you can. Ironically, I'm in better cycling shape than I was when I raced regularly 4-5 years ago, but I do far fewer fast group rides and very infrequent races these days due to schedule and life so I'm in worse race shape than I was then, precisely because I'm not used to the super-intense anerobic efforts followed by active recovery over and over and over again. No matter how many intervals you do, nothing pushes you quite as hard as trying to close a widening gap to another rider in a race or fast ride.

Hey Phil! Sorry to hear about your accident :(

Yeah, this is generally speeding up on the descent before a hill, but even then I sometimes get passed later by riders taking a more steady approach.

Maybe I'll try it the other way for a while....

Hell, I don't know. Most days, maintaining momentum by down-shifting to maintain a good balance between high cadence and an effort level somewhere close to LT seems to work best.

Other days, it seems no gear is low enough. Or, I get blown, hit a short flatter section, get a second wind and storm up to the top. Or, I feel sluggish and slow, but when I reach the top I find I've done it in record time.

If you're a pro, maybe(??) you spend a lot of time optimizing various factors (can't say from personal knowledge). For us mere mortals, it's all about feel on the day.