Climbers and their importance in a race - Part 2
There are different categories in a race that interests the climbers especially in the grand tours including Tour de France, Giro d’ Italia and Vuelta a Espana because of King of Mountains Classification and the winner of the category is awarded by a jersey.
The best climber of the race can be identified by the different coloured jersey before the start of the next stage.
Climbers identically have a slim physique with a very high stamina which can be natural or they develop it by training. Another thing that plays a key factor and helps a climber do his job is the précised muscles that they develop for the mountain stages
of the race. One thing that most of the climbers lack is their skills towards the downhill and that is really where a line between a climber and a good climber can be drawn as the time gained on the mountain can easily be lost during a descent and the climber
with the lighter physique can have a clear advantage at that point.
Climbing is mainly a power to weight activity and one has to work hard to develop his body into a good climber and which means that if someone is 5 feet and 8 inches tall that makes a total of 68 inches than he should weigh less than 136 pounds. There is
actually no hard and fast rule on how to approach the mountain stages as cyclists are seen using different techniques on reaching a mountain and is really about how comfortable one feels on a certain climb. Cyclists are seen usually shifting from the seated
position to a standing position as the track gets steeper but again it depends on how comfortable one is with a specific position.
Climbers are always very cautious about their diet especially during a tour as they prefer to consume more carbohydrates and proteins which can include pasta; rice with some vegetables to make sure the diet is complete and gives the energy required during
the race. Andy Schleck mentioned during an interview as he said, “on a tour you don’t eat what you like, you don’t eat what tastes good, you eat what’s good for you.. I mean white rice in the morning is not the most tasteful and the exiting thing but you eat
what you get not necessarily what’s tasteful.”
Strong mental skills are essential for a good climber and tough physical and mental training is the only recipe for a successfull climber. A climber must always have a know-how of the climb that he has to deal with as in order to be prepared about the altitude
and the turns on a mountain.
The best climbers in the sport recommends that one shall always focus on his own game rather than worrying about the rivals who might look exhausted on a stage but can really end up destroying your confidence by launching an attack and taking the lead. Climbers
tend to break a tough climb into smaller bits dividing a huge mountainous climb into segments and setting up small targets for themselves.
Good climbing skills are crucial for a good cyclist and only the best combination of power to weight ratio, physical strength, mental strength and gear selection can produce the desired results and help climbers to achieve the momentum as much as they can
on reaching a climb as it helps to save the energy which can be used later on at the descends.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: