{"id":332,"date":"2026-08-08T11:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:43:39","slug":"s-entrainer-grimper-col","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/practice-hill-climbing\/","title":{"rendered":"How to train to climb a mountain pass on a bike"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Conquering your first mountain pass, or improving your personal best on Alpe d'Huez, cannot be improvised. Proper training makes all the difference between suffering through the climb and savouring it. Here are our training tips for <strong>be ready to climb the passes of the Oisans<\/strong>, whether you are starting from scratch or aiming for performance.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Building stamina<\/h2>\n<p>The foundation of every climber is their\u2019<strong>aerobic endurance<\/strong> long rides at a moderate intensity, where you can still hold a conversation. This work develops your ability to last for several hours, which is essential for tackling one or more mountain passes back-to-back. Gradually increase the duration of your long rides, week after week, without rushing things.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Work specifically on the climb<\/h2>\n<p>Nothing replaces climbing. If you live far from the mountains, look for the slightest hill to get your body used to prolonged effort, both out of the saddle and seated. Integrate sessions of <strong>threshold<\/strong> (sustained efforts of 8 to 20 minutes) which replicate the demands of a mountain pass, and do not forget the work on <strong>force<\/strong> at a low cadence to cope with steep sections like those of\u2019<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/colours\/oz\/\">Oz-en-Oisans<\/a> or from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/colours\/villard-notre-dame\/\">Villard-Notre-Dame<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Improving your power-to-weight ratio<\/h2>\n<p>When climbing, what matters is the number of watts you generate per kilo of body weight. Improving this ratio involves two levers: increasing power through training, and refining your body composition without going to extremes. It is precisely this ratio that we use to estimate the <strong>time per level<\/strong> displayed on each col card.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Pacing oneself on the day<\/h2>\n<p>The biggest beginner's mistake is setting off too fast. On a mountain pass, <strong>start carefully<\/strong> : the first few kilometres of\u2019<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/colours\/alpe-dhuez\/\">Alpe d'Huez<\/a>, for example, are the steepest. Choose an easy gear, find your cadence and keep something in reserve for the end. A mountain pass is rarely won at the start, but is often lost by blowing up too early.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Do not neglect recovery and nutrition<\/h2>\n<p>Training only progresses if the body recovers: get enough sleep and space out heavy sessions. On the day of a long run, eat and drink regularly <strong>right from the start<\/strong>, before feeling hungry or thirsty, to avoid bonking in the finale.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Setting gradual goals<\/h2>\n<p>Start with an accessible mountain pass like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/colours\/ornon\/\">Col d\u2019Ornon<\/a>, then progress through stages towards longer and higher ascents. The challenge of\u2019<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/oisans-cols-series\/\">Oisans Col Series<\/a> is perfect for measuring your progress throughout the summer. To choose the right climb, use our guide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/which-mountain-pass-for-your-level\/\">which mountain pass to climb according to your level<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>How long does it take to prepare to climb a mountain pass?<\/h3>\n<p>A few months of regular training are enough for a first accessible mountain pass. Aim for consistency rather than occasional intensity.<\/p>\n<h3>Do I need a power meter?<\/h3>\n<p>Useful for performance, but not essential: perceived exertion and heart rate already allow you to pace your effort well.<\/p>\n<h3>How do I know if a mountain pass is within my reach?<\/h3>\n<p>Compare the FIETS index, the average gradient and the estimated times shown on each card of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/colours\/\">Oisans mountain passes page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Ready to take action? Choose your goal on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/colours\/\">Oisans mountain passes page<\/a> and start your preparation.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Endurance, threshold, power-to-weight ratio, effort management: our training tips to be ready to climb the passes of the Oisans.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evenements"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Comment s&#039;entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo - Tour d&#039;Oisans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/practice-hill-climbing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Comment s&#039;entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo - Tour d&#039;Oisans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Endurance, seuil, rapport poids\/puissance, gestion de l&#039;effort : nos conseils d&#039;entra\u00eenement pour \u00eatre pr\u00eat \u00e0 grimper les cols de l&#039;Oisans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/practice-hill-climbing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tour d&#039;Oisans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T11:40:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T17:43:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"901\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Billy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Billy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Billy\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e38a9f4693e6b8c71411b1188a183f44\"},\"headline\":\"Comment s&rsquo;entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-08T11:40:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-08T17:43:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":602,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"\u00c9v\u00e9nements\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/\",\"name\":\"Comment s'entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo - Tour d'Oisans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-08T11:40:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-08T17:43:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e38a9f4693e6b8c71411b1188a183f44\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":901,\"caption\":\"Cycliste \u00e0 l'entra\u00eenement grimpant une route de col dans l'Oisans\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Comment s&rsquo;entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tour d'Oisans\",\"description\":\"Les cols de l&#039;Oisans &agrave; v&eacute;lo : profils, d&eacute;nivel&eacute;s et cartes 3D\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e38a9f4693e6b8c71411b1188a183f44\",\"name\":\"Billy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c150455681f022d1ae106d54aa9fee4fbe5984d32e6cb4d77907c7a4c9c4ffee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c150455681f022d1ae106d54aa9fee4fbe5984d32e6cb4d77907c7a4c9c4ffee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c150455681f022d1ae106d54aa9fee4fbe5984d32e6cb4d77907c7a4c9c4ffee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Billy\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tourdoisans.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/billy\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to train to climb a mountain pass by bike - Tour d'Oisans","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/practice-hill-climbing\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Comment s'entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo - Tour d'Oisans","og_description":"Endurance, seuil, rapport poids\/puissance, gestion de l'effort : nos conseils d'entra\u00eenement pour \u00eatre pr\u00eat \u00e0 grimper les cols de l'Oisans.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/practice-hill-climbing\/","og_site_name":"Tour d'Oisans","article_published_time":"2026-08-08T11:40:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T17:43:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":901,"url":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Billy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Billy","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/"},"author":{"name":"Billy","@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e38a9f4693e6b8c71411b1188a183f44"},"headline":"Comment s&rsquo;entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo","datePublished":"2026-08-08T11:40:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T17:43:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/"},"wordCount":602,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp","articleSection":["\u00c9v\u00e9nements"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/","name":"How to train to climb a mountain pass by bike - Tour d'Oisans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-08T11:40:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T17:43:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e38a9f4693e6b8c71411b1188a183f44"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/s-entrainer-grimper-col.webp","width":1600,"height":901,"caption":"Cycliste \u00e0 l'entra\u00eenement grimpant une route de col dans l'Oisans"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/s-entrainer-grimper-col\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Comment s&rsquo;entra\u00eener pour grimper un col \u00e0 v\u00e9lo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/","name":"Tour d'Oisans","description":"The Oisans mountain passes by bike: profiles, elevation changes and 3D maps","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e38a9f4693e6b8c71411b1188a183f44","name":"Billy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c150455681f022d1ae106d54aa9fee4fbe5984d32e6cb4d77907c7a4c9c4ffee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c150455681f022d1ae106d54aa9fee4fbe5984d32e6cb4d77907c7a4c9c4ffee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c150455681f022d1ae106d54aa9fee4fbe5984d32e6cb4d77907c7a4c9c4ffee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Billy"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/author\/billy\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374,"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions\/374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tourdoisans.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"well played","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}