The Strengths in road cycling: which are the most important?

In road cycling, each competitor must find their strengths to take advantage of them in the decisive moments. Which ones are yours?

The Strengths in road cycling: which are the most important?
The Strengths in road cycling: which are the most important?

In road cycling, each competitor must find their strengths to take advantage of them in the decisive moments. Which ones are yours?

The two-wheeled sport is one of the most popular in the world. For this wide range of benefits makes it an option for adventurers, curious lovers of physical activity. In that order of ideas, there are many strengths in cycling that must be considered before and during its practice.

Do you like to ride a bike? Do you know your strengths in this sport? Perhaps you have ever asked yourself that question, but you leave it in the air. Here are some guidelines for you to discover.

Strengths in road cycling

In the same way that happens in other sports disciplines, people have a series of characteristics of their own to perform road cycling. Before and during your practice, it is important to recognize what those main strengths are that an individual needs in order to focus on improving them.

This is the case with the selection processes of the cycling modality to be practiced. By focusing on the specific strengths of each rider, it is possible to choose the discipline wisely.

Main types of road cyclists

Within this sport, three main types of cyclists stand out with their own strengths. It's about climbers, sprinters, and rollers. Each one has different characteristics, which are what facilitate the selection process of an athlete, either in a teaching academy or a team of national or international renown.

  • Climbers: also known as "beetles", they are the owners of the ascents in the mountain.
  • Sprinters: they are usually powerful and are recognized in the finals of flat stages because they finish the race looking for the goal.
  • Rollers: stand out for their pedaling rhythm in flat and constant areas.

Strengths in cycling according to characteristics

The physical, psychological and physiological characteristics are what determine the strengths of an athlete. Based on this, the performance of various types of cyclists may vary. In that order of ideas, we will show you which ones predominate the most according to the cyclist.

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Climbers

The characteristics of climbing cyclists are quite complex. On a physical level, they are distinguished by their slim bodies and short stature; even the legs are slightly hypertrophied.

Despite their build, their main strengths are lung capacity and pedaling frequency, characteristics that give them power on climbing surfaces. These even allow you to accelerate anaerobically, a movement known as an attack.

On the other hand, the psychological part of a climber is quite strong; this ridge makes them unbreakable cyclists. Climbers take advantage of a mix of endurance, focus, and effort.

Sprinters

Physically, sprinters have the opposite characteristics to those of climbers, at least on a physical level. These tend to be much larger, taller, and have hypertrophied legs. At a physiological level, they have great advantages in terms of anaerobic effort, since their combination of strength and speed allows them to accelerate on short distances.

With regard to the psychology of a sprinter, it is not accurate to say that they are weak; however, they understand that they are not made for routes with steep ascents. Simply put, they are very powerful, but with little resistance.

Rollers

Their physical characteristics are more similar to those of sprinters: their bodies are large and hypertrophied. This quality favors them on flat terrain, but not on ascents.

Physiologically, they remain above the threshold for long distances; For this reason, his strengths in road cycling are focused on guiding the teams. They are usually seen at the head of the peloton cutting wind and being the main axis of sprinters and climbers.

Lastly, his psychology is based on endurance. Despite this, they are clear that, although they do a huge job of wear and tear, they are not usually the star cyclists or the title winners.

Find and leverage your strengths in cycling

The road modality requires various strengths in cycling, but the most necessary and considered main is passion. If you are passionate about one sport, the rest can be built with discipline and perseverance.

Things like size can be major obstacles; however, they should not be the trigger to abandon this discipline. The goal is to find the type of rider you are or can be and focus on improving based on that.