Effort strategy for a hilly cycling event: a complete guide based on breathing
- PAIRFS
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Why is breathing key to a good strategy in cyclosportive events?
On a hilly cyclosportive event, the difficulty isn't just physical: it comes from managing the intensity . Too hard on the first climbs, and you'll burn out. Too cautious, and you'll lose precious time.
Most cyclists rely on power or heart rate. But these two indicators don't tell you how your metabolism is actually reacting .
Breathing, on the other hand, reveals in real time:
whether you primarily burn fat or carbohydrates,
if you are close to VT1 or VT2,
if acidosis begins,
If you can keep up the pace... or if you're going to pay a few minutes later.
👉 It is the most reliable tool for managing irregular effort such as a hilly cyclosportive.
1. The 3 essential respiratory zones in competitive cycling
🔹 Zone 1: below VT1
Energy system: aerobic lipid metabolism
Features :
breathing very stable
low energy cost
sustained effort several hours
🎯 Use in:
the warm-up,
the false flats,
the connections between bumps,
the first few minutes of a long climb.
🔹 Zone 2: between VT1 and VT2
Energy system: aerobic carbohydrate
Features :
Deeper but controlled breathing
good cruising speed
increased carbohydrate consumption
🎯 Use in:
the “rolling” climbs,
the sections where the intensity must remain stable,
the moments when the peloton accelerates slightly.
🔹 Zone 3: above VT2
Pathway: anaerobic lactic
Features :
high CO₂ production
breathing very rapidly
acidosis → intensity difficult to maintain
🎯 Use only for:
to tilt a collar,
follow a short attack,
fill a gap,
restart at the exit of the turn.
👉 Spending too much time here = guaranteed explosion.
2. How to manage a hilly cycling event using breathing techniques?
1. Short climbs (2–5 min)
Objective: to avoid premature saturation
✔ Stay just under VT2
✔ Ascend with controlled breathing, not into hyperventilation
✔ Save energy for the following kilometers
2. Long climbs (10–30 min)
Objective: to maintain a sustainable intensity
✔ Getting Started with VT1
✔ Stabilize between VT1 and VT2
✔ Avoid peaks above VT2 (reserved for the last 2 minutes)
3. Successive restarts and bumps
Objective: to limit cumulative acidosis
✔ Restart briefly above VT2 (max 10–20 s)
✔ Immediately return to VT1 to recover
✔ Monitor ventilation: if it takes >1 min to stabilize → too strong
4. Rolling parts
Objective: to save carbohydrates
✔ Clearly remain under VT1
✔ Breathe through your nose if possible (good metabolic control)
✔ Manage your nutrition during these easy sections
5. Hilly Final
Objective: to conserve energy for the final climb
✔ Never exceed VT2 before the final climb
✔ Believe in “respiratory resilience”: if your breathing quickens early, your legs will follow soon after. ✔ On the final climb: you can exceed VT2 towards the end.
3. Why are breathing-based zones superior to power-based zones in cyclosportive cycling?
Power does not reflect:
your internal state,
the rise in acidosis,
accumulated fatigue,
the ability to sustain a given intensity.
Breathing, however, incorporates all of that.
👉 When climbing, with the wind, the heat, the fatigue, breathing remains the most accurate indicator of what your body can actually handle.
4. How ZoneX helps you prepare for AND succeed in a hilly cycling event
ZoneX allows you to:
✔ Precisely identify your VT1 and VT2
→ To know your true breathing reference points.
✔ Define your physiological zones
→ More reliable than FTP, FCmax or formulas.
✔ Simulate your running intensities
→ On a home trainer or on your training rides.
✔ Measure your strategy in real-world conditions
→ On your bike, outdoors, on real bumps.
✔ Adjust your pacing week after week
→ Thanks to simple and quick tests.
👉 You know exactly which energy system you are in , and therefore how to distribute your energy throughout the race.
Conclusion: the best strategy is the respiratory strategy
In a hilly cyclosportive, the one who gains time is not the one who climbs the fastest…But the one who best manages the accumulation of intensity .
Breathing gives you a huge strategic advantage: it reveals in real time what your metabolism is capable of supporting , without exploding.
👉 With ZoneX, this strategy becomes simple, objective and reproducible.
👉 This is the smartest way to perform on the field.
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