Pacing on Zwift Climbs

Wilby_89

Been doing a lot of hill climbs recently on Zwift got a few KOM's on the climbs which is always nice.
Anyways in particular I've been cycling box hill a lot and find that I start the climb with a high power but find half way up the climb I need a couple of minutes of respite normally between 150-200 watts where as my average is around 280watts,
I think my FTP is around 250-255watts and weigh 62kg.
My best time up the climb is around 08:52.
I would like to better this time so should I just be putting out less effort before the climb and just try climbing the whole of box hill at my maximum effort without the recovery halfway through or lower my average power on the climb and takeaway the recovery period.
As stated before my aim is to get the best time on the climb and I think the recovery for a couple of minutes during the climb is getting in the way of this, any advice please.

meesterbond

It's on Zwift for goodness sake... why don't you try both and report back which worked.

markhewitt1978

Zwift is no different to tackling any hill where the best way to get up is to do a consistent wattage from start to finish. If you're feeling the need to have a rest you either don't need a rest and you're being a pussy or you've gone out too hard. What's your HR doing through this?

As it's Zwift as said it's not too difficult to ride the hill at set wattages and see what happens, you could even use workout ERG mode to keep you honest.

sloppyschleckonds

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Zwift is no different to tackling any hill where the best way to get up is to do a consistent wattage from start to finish.

Is it!?

CptKernow

Wilby_89 wrote:

Been doing a lot of hill climbs recently on Zwift got a few KOM's on the climbs which is always nice.

With all due respect, the only people getting KOMs on Zwift are cheating - intentionally or not. The top pros do not come close to virtually any of the KOMs on there...

Wilby_89 wrote:

I think my FTP is around 250-255watts and weigh 62kg.
My best time up the climb is around 08:52.
.

However, this suggests you are under-stating your power on Zwift. I'm slightly heavier and have a slightly lower "official" FTP and get up there quicker.

Anyway, the best way to tackle these climbs is know your 5min or 10min max wattage and use that as a rough guide. Also keep an eye on your HR...

cruff

My best time up Box Hill on Zwift is about a minute and a half slower than my best time on Box Hill in meatspace. Training indoors is different to outdoors, but I think the general principles apply - steady FTP efforts are better than hammering it then seeing your power drop like a stone. Know your FTP and work accordingly - if the climb is 10 minutes you should be able to put out about 5-10% more than your FTP consistently, providing you've measured it properly