grip the handlebars too tightly, as that wastes energy. Relax your shoulders, try to keep you back as straight as possible, but without straining to do so, and point your elbows out slightly. This all facilitates deep, unrestricted breathing. If you tuck in your elbows, tense your shoulders or arch your back excessively, you will restrict the space in which your lungs can move to inhale and exhale air. The same also goes for crouching too low.
When pedalling comfortably in a low gear you should just be supporting yourself on the handlebars. But for short steep stretches you might have to pull with your arms as you make more powerful pedal strokes. That’s OK, but don’t get bogged down doing this for a long time. Shift to a lower gear on long steep stretches, don’t try to muscle your way over them.
Riding out of the saddle should be kept to a minimum on long climbs, although it’s OK to do it for a few metres to keep your momentum on a steep bit of the climb. Shifting to a slightly higher gear and getting out of the saddle on long stretches of the same gradient brings other muscle into play, preventing them from stiffening up. It also takes some of the strain off the muscles you have been using constantly on the climb. Push down slightly harder as you get out of the saddle to keep your upward progress smooth. And when you do climb out of the saddle still try not to tense your upper body.
Drink plenty while you are climbing, especially in hot weather. Water or well-diluted energy drinks are the best. Dilute them more than the manufacturers instructions recommend in hot weather. When it’s hot Tour de France riders pour water over their heads to cool down, which is OK if you have a plentiful supply. If water is limited it will do more good inside you.
It’s best to carry two specialist cycling drinking bottles on your bike, one with your diluted energy drink in it and the other full of water. There are usually plenty of cafés or shops near to the mountains of the Tour de France to buy more water. Don’t fill bottles from springs or mountain streams. You never know what might be contaminating them further up the mountain, and even the purest streams might have microbes in them that you aren’t used to. For long rides in remote areas, like some parts of the Pyrenees and the Southern Alps, augment your bottles with one of those hydration systems that you carry on your back.
It’s difficult to eat while your are climbing, simply because you are breathing too hard. If you are riding up one climb then eat a solid meal about two hours before you start, so your stomach isn’t overburdened while you are climbing. Make your meal bigger, and maybe leave a little longer to digest it, if you are doing several climbs in one day. Eat solid food like cakes or energy bars on the flat bits between climbs, using carbohydrate gels to top up your fuel requirements on the climbs themselves. And always follow a gel with a drink of water to dilute it.
Use cycling-specific clothing. Cycling shorts have a padded seat that won’t cause chaffing in delicate areas. They also transport sweat away from your body, as do cycling-specific tops. The best tops for mountain climbing are ones with full zips so you can undo them and get some cooling air flowing over your skin. Cycling tops also have pockets in the back of them for carrying food and other essentials. Wear thin cycling socks and cycling-specific shoes.
Short-fingered gloves called track mitts provide extra grip and soak up sweat. They also offer protection to your hands in case of a fall. You should wear a cycling helmet. Modern ones have plenty of ventilation, so you won’t overheat.
You can get very hot climbing mountains, even though the air temperature on some of the tops can be quite low. If you have no one in a motor vehicle supporting your attempt on a given climb, then it is wise to carry a thin windproof sleeved top and a pair of thin windproof gloves for the descents. They make the descents comfortable and safer, because cold hands aren’t good at applying brakes. These two items roll up and will fit in the pockets of a cycling top, or in a small bag that you can secure under your saddle.
You should also carry at least one spare inner tube and some tyre levers in that bag. Plus a mobile phone is a good idea in case of emergencies. And always take a serviceable bike pump with you.
Descending technique
What goes up must come down, but coming down a Tour de France mountain isn’t just a question of letting gravity take over. There are certain rules you must follow. The first is to do with braking.
Speed is great, you get a real feeling of exhilaration when descending a Tour de France mountain. But speed must be controlled. Go into a corner too fast and you are going to crash, the laws of physics say so. The same will happen if you leave your braking until the corner, it must be done well before. And with the rim brakes fitted to road bikes and some mountain and hybrid bikes, there is an added complication.
Excessive braking makes the wheel rims heat up. This causes the air inside your tyres to expand and can result in disastrous tyre blowouts. The best way to avoid problems is to not let excessive speed build up in the first place.
When descending a road bike is easier to control if you hold the bottoms of the dropped handlebars. You also get a more powerful pull on your brake levers in that position. Your arms should be slightly flexed to absorb any road bumps. However, to stop excessive speed building up you should straighten your arms occasionally so that your body is raised and acts as an air brake.
It also pays on long straights to do a bit of braking now and again just to stop speed building up. Don’t apply your brakes on and off in a jerky way. Just gently pull on the levers, front before the rear, and let the brakes scrub off a bit of speed now and again. That way you won’t have as much speed to take off with hard braking before a corner.
Approach the bend a little out and cut the apex
As you approach a corner, begin to slow down in plenty of time. If you can’t see how tight the bend is then err on the side of caution and take off a lot of speed. In any case all your braking should be done before you make the turn. A wheel under braking could lock and skid, and it tends to track straight. So either way your bike is not under control and you risk crashing.
For a right-hand bend in France, if road conditions allow, move slightly out towards the middle of the road, having checked for other traffic behind and in front of you first. Then turn in across the apex of the corner and end the bend slightly out towards the middle of the road again. For a left-hand bend you start right out towards the right and cut in a bit towards the apex and end up out on the right again.
These are the most efficient ways of cornering. They cut down on your braking and allow you to carry some speed through a corner, but you should only use them if the road conditions, surfaces and other traffic allow you to. You must never move out more than halfway towards the middle of the road in any case, even if it is empty. And if there is any other traffic near you, the road surface is loose or wet, or you can’t see right around a bend, you must slow right down and take each bend right over on your own side of the road.
Mountain bikes and hybrid bikes fitted with disc brakes have a big advantage on descents. You can use these brakes exactly when you need to and don’t have to worry about them overheating your tyres. They are also much more powerful than rim brakes, although that in itself can cause a wheel to lock up. So the key even with these brakes is anticipation. Always brake smoothly and in a straight line. Never snatch at your brake levers, and always apply your brakes gradually.
Your body position is also important when cornering at speed. Crouching lower than your normal riding position lowers your centre of gravity and reduces
