The Pacing Paradox: Why Starting Slower Keeps You With The Pack (And Earns Their Respect!)
You're at the bottom of the climb with your group. Everyone surges forward. Your instinct screams "stay with them!" So you do. You match their pace, your heart rate spikes into the red, and for the first two minutes, you're right there. Then reality hits. Your legs turn to lead, your breathing becomes ragged, and one by one, the group pulls away. You're left watching them disappear up the road, arriving at the top gasping and defeated while they're already chatting casually.
Sound familiar? Here's the thing nobody tells you: the riders who finish strong at the top almost always start slower than you think.
The Science Behind The Paradox
When you surge hard at the bottom of a climb, your body immediately taps into anaerobic metabolism. Research in the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that starting above your sustainable threshold can deplete critical glycogen stores up to 30% faster than a controlled start, leading to premature fatigue (1). Your muscles accumulate lactate faster than they can clear it, and you're essentially writing cheques your body can't cash.
The riders who stay strong? They're doing something counterintuitive. They're starting at 70-75% of their maximum climbing effort, staying in their aerobic zone, and letting their bodies warm into the climb. This approach preserves glycogen, maintains sustainable lactate levels, and keeps their neuromuscular system fresh for the entire ascent.
The Group Dynamics Reality
Here's what's actually happening when the group surges at the start. Most riders are making the same mistake you are—going too hard. The difference? Some have bigger engines and can sustain that error longer. Others have done this climb before and know it flattens out at 3km, so they're gambling on recovery. You're comparing yourself to riders with either more fitness or more knowledge, and that's not a fair fight.
The solution isn't to match their initial pace. It's to ride your own pace for the first third of any climb. Studies in Sports Medicine demonstrate that even pacing strategies result in faster overall climb times compared to aggressive starts, even when initial speed feels slower (2).
Your Strategic Approach
Start every significant climb at a pace where you can maintain a conversation, even if it feels embarrassingly easy. Your breathing should be elevated but controlled. Your legs should feel like they're working but not straining. If you're on a heart rate monitor, stay at 75-80% of your maximum for the first third of the climb.
What happens next surprises most cyclists. As others start to fade from their aggressive starts, you're still feeling strong. Your consistent pace means you're actually catching people in the middle section of the climb. By the final third, when fitness really matters, you've got reserves to draw on while others are empty.
The Respect Factor
Here's the transformation that matters. When you arrive at the top still able to talk, still looking composed, the group notices. They're not waiting for you anymore—you're waiting with them. That shift from being the rider who suffers to the rider who climbs intelligently? That's what earns respect.
The next time someone comments on your climbing, it won't be sympathy. It'll be "You're looking really strong on the hills lately." That recognition comes from consistency, not heroics.
Making It Automatic
The challenge is overriding your instinct to chase when the group surges. This takes practice and a systematic approach to pacing strategy. Understanding your personal effort zones, knowing how to read different climb profiles, and having a clear protocol for various gradient changes makes smart pacing automatic rather than a constant mental battle.
Making Peace With Starting Slower
The first few times you deliberately hold back at the start of a climb, it'll feel wrong. Your ego will protest. You'll worry you're being dropped. Stick with it. Track your results over four weeks. Note when you finish strong versus when you blow up. The data will convince you faster than any article can.
Your body doesn't care about your ego. It cares about sustainable energy production. Work with your physiology, not against it, and you'll find yourself at the top with the group far more consistently.
FAQ
How do I know if I'm starting too hard on a climb? If you can't speak in complete sentences during the first 2-3 minutes of a climb, you're going too hard. Your breathing should be elevated but controlled, and you should be able to answer a question without gasping.
What if the group gets too far ahead when I start slower? Let them go initially. Most will fade in the middle section when their aggressive start catches up with them. You'll often catch struggling riders halfway up while maintaining your steady pace, and finish much stronger overall.
Does this strategy work for short, steep climbs too? For climbs under 3-4 minutes, you can afford to be more aggressive since the effort is shorter. But for anything longer, controlled starts consistently outperform hard starts, even when the initial pace feels slow.
How long does it take to see results from better pacing? You'll notice the difference on your very next climb. The challenge is trusting the strategy enough to stick with it when your instinct screams to chase the group at the bottom.
REFERENCES
Jones, A.M., Grassi, B., Christensen, P.M., Krustrup, P., Bangsbo, J., & Poole, D.C. (2011). Slow component of VO2 kinetics: mechanistic bases and practical applications. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43(11), 2046-2062.
Abbiss, C.R. & Laursen, P.B. (2008). Describing and understanding pacing strategies during athletic competition. Sports Medicine, 38(3), 239-252.