Photos: Francois Richard
PCC head coach Houshang Amiri led an advanced skills coaching session last month with the UVic Cycling Club. The focus was on improving climbing technique, from seated and standing efforts to smooth descents and overall form refinement. These skills will help the athletes become stronger, more confident, and race ready.
Feedback from the clinic was positive. Craig Miller had some key takeaways from the session which he will incorporate into future training plans. “The cadence drills we did during the clinic taught us how a higher cadence will help reduce muscle fatigue, and is more efficient on longer climbs whereas a lower cadence will increase the load on our legs, but can be quicker over shorter climbs. Playing with this cadence allowed me to not only recognize but feel for myself, that different climbs, and even different parts of the same climb, require different cadences to achieve a balance between outright power and efficiency.”
“The second takeaway was how upper body positioning affects the pedal stroke. A drill we did that highlighted this was climbing the hill entirely out of the saddle. This way of climbing allows for a more complete pedal stroke, but is difficult to maintain over the duration of a climb with much more fatigue placed onto both the lower and upper body. By using the drills that Houshang taught us, I hope to focus on learning and becoming more efficient, and faster climber throughout the coming winter to prepare myself to race in the spring.”
Pippa Kolking also benefitted from the session: “Love that Houshang gave us an easily repeatable, understandable and challenging workout plan we could use again.”
Next session is a classroom presentation to be held on November 8 at 5pm at UVic room MCK155.
