How to Pace a Hill Climb Race: Start Hard, Then Hold On

A hill climb race is one of the simplest events in cycling. You ride up one hill, on your own, against the clock, and the fastest time wins. In the UK the season runs through the autumn, with the national championship usually in late October. Most courses are short, often only a few minutes from start to finish.

Short does not mean easy to pace. Start too gently and you finish with something left. Start too hard and the last minute turns into a crawl. Here is how to pace one, how to prepare, and how to fit it into your training.

Why pacing a hill climb is different

On a long climb in a sportive or a road race, you pace for the whole ride. The usual advice is to ride evenly and save something for later, and our guide to climbing technique covers that.

A hill climb race is different because there is no later. The effort is short and maximal, and you have nothing else to save for. The question is not whether to go hard. It is how to share out an all-out effort over a few minutes so that you cross the line with nothing left.

How hard to start

The answer depends on how long your climb takes.

Under a minute: go all out from the gun. In very short events, of about 30 seconds or less, an all-out start tends to work best (Abbiss and Laursen, 2008). There is no time to settle in, so don't try.

Around two to six minutes: start very hard, then settle. This is where most hill climbs sit. One study had eight trained cyclists ride a lab time trial of about five minutes. The riders were faster when they started with 15 seconds flat out and then dropped to a steady effort than when they started fast but not flat out. The difference was about three seconds (Aisbett et al., 2009). It was a small, lab-based study, so treat it as a guide rather than a rule. But in a race this short, time lost to a timid start is hard to win back.

Longer than about six or seven minutes: closer to an even effort. On longer climbs, pacing looks more like a time trial. A hard first minute is still fine, but the rest of the climb should be steady, building towards the top. Our time trial pacing guide explains why even pacing wins over longer efforts.

The one mistake to avoid at any length is going so hard in the first minute that you have to ease right off to recover. If you find yourself freewheeling or sitting up halfway up, you started too hard.

Know the course

Ride the hill beforehand if you can, ideally more than once. Note:

• where it steepens and where it eases, so a steep section doesn't catch you out
• where the finish line is, and whether you can see it coming
• whether there is a flat run-up to the climb or a standing start on the slope

On race day you can then break the climb into sections and know how much is left at each point.

Preparing on the day

Warm up properly. A short race leaves no time to warm up inside it. Ride for long enough to feel properly warm, include a few short hard efforts, and finish close to your start time.

Get the gearing right. You want a gear low enough for the steepest part of the course without grinding to a near stop. If you can't turn the pedals over on the steepest section in your easiest gear, change the gearing before race day, not during it.

Strip the bike. Every bit of weight you carry counts more on a climb than on the flat. Take off bottles and anything you don't need for a few minutes of riding.

Sit or stand? You will probably do both. Stand to get going, to get over the steepest sections and for the final push to the line, and sit to keep a steady rhythm in between. Our climbing technique guide looks at when each one helps.

Training for a hill climb

A hill climb rewards being able to produce a lot of power for a few minutes, and being able to tolerate how that feels.

• Short, maximal efforts. Efforts of two to five minutes, done hard, are close to race demand. Our guide to VO2 max intervals covers how to structure them.
• Practise the start. Ride the first 30 to 60 seconds of your target climb at race effort, a few times, so the hard start feels familiar rather than frightening.
• Ride the actual hill. Nothing teaches pacing on a course better than riding it at effort.
• Sprint and neuromuscular work. Short, very hard efforts help the explosive start. See neuromuscular training for cyclists.

If a hill climb is a race you care about, treat it like any other target race. Ease off for the few days before, with a short session to stay sharp, so you arrive fresh. Our guide to race week explains how.

Common questions

How long is a hill climb race?

Most are short, often a few minutes. Some longer climbs take more than ten minutes. Check the course length and your own time on it, because how long the climb takes you decides how to pace it.

Should I start a hill climb as hard as I can?

For a climb of a few minutes, start very hard for the first 10 to 20 seconds, then settle into the hardest effort you can hold to the top. For a very short climb, go flat out all the way. For a long climb, start hard but ride the rest more evenly.

What gear should I use for a hill climb?

One that lets you keep the pedals turning on the steepest section. Check it on the actual hill before race day.

Should I use a power meter to pace a hill climb?

It can help on a longer climb, where you can hold a steady target. On a short climb, the effort changes too fast for numbers to help much, and feel and knowledge of the course may be more useful.

The short version

Start hard. On a climb of a few minutes, go flat out for the first few seconds, then hold the hardest effort you can to the line. Ride the course beforehand, warm up properly, and gear for the steepest section. Train with short, maximal efforts and practise the start.