How do Tour de France pro cyclists climb so fast? Here are 5 tips from Ben O’Connor, who excels on long, difficult climbs, and has made a name for himself taking wins in the biggest bike races in the world – the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, Volta Catalunya and more…

    ESP: ¿Cómo logra un ganador de etapa del Tour de Francia subir tan rápido? Aquí tienes 5 consejos de Ben O’Connor, quien sobresale en ascensos largos y difíciles, y se ha ganado una reputación al lograr victorias en las carreras de bicicletas más importantes del mundo.

    A big thank you to Ben for his time in helping make this how-to video.

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    00:00 Intro
    00:45 Tip 1: Cadence
    01:29 Tip 2: Training
    04:20 Tip 3: Eat correctly
    05:02 Tip 4: Train with similar level riders
    05:57 Tip 5: Know your limits
    06:49 Tour de France stage win
    07:28 Bonus tips

    This ride was filmed in Andorra, where many professional cyclists live and train. Riders like Jack Haig, James Knox, Pavel Sivakov, Luke Durbridge, Sepp Kuss, Robert Gesink, Julian Alaphilippe, Carlos Verona, George Bennett and others use the mountains of Andorra to train with teams such INEOS-Grenadiers, Jumbo Visma, UAE Team Emirates, EF-Education Pro Cycling.

    40 Comments

    1. Tip 1 is probably the most difficult for an “average” amateur. To maintain a fluid high cadence of 85-90 on a 8% or so climb, you probably have to be able to push 250ish+ watts weight dependent (e.g. at least base on my experience on Alpe du Zwift). On a 2-3 minute climb not too bad, but going for 30 minutes will make it very hard to keep that cadence. That being said, I like how I feel a lot fresher in the legs when doing 95rpm Tempo/Threshold workouts rather than at 80rpm

    2. fyi since Clif stopped making gels, here in America, decent gels are like $3 each and you can't find any with 100mg caffeine. Its unaffordable.

    3. I'd love to see someone make a proper video on insight to nutrition while riding. Good energy gels/bars vs crappy ones and why? What to eat vs what not to eat. How to manage fuel while riding…etc.

      I used an energy gel a few times and felt the effects for maybe 10 mins then bonked each time, so wondering what classifies a good product on the go.

    4. So cool. So Chill. Luv your rides with Ben. I often go look at his Strava and weep quietly to myself 😀😀😀💪❤‍🔥

    5. What I find the hardest of all the tips is – eating on the bike.
      I guess I could and should add alarms to my Garmin to remind me to eat while riding, but also thinking about amount of carbs I should eat each ride
      Since I’m here already – buying powermeter pedals (Favero Assiomas in my case) is the best investment EVER for pacing up a climb <3

      Keep them coming Tristan, you’re killing it!!!

    6. Using a lighter bike would, also, help. I train on a 12.7kg bike with 7 gears, then jump on a 6.5kg weapon with all the gears.. It really helps…. in addition to the tips Ben mentions above.

    7. Thanks Tristan and Ben, excellent tips especially the preparation and pacing for climbing. Have a great festive season and see you for more in 2024, Don

    8. Great video. Nice seeing Ben on the new bike, would love to hear his thoughts on how it rides even though we know he can't diss it but still always cool seeing a bike check video.

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