How to get the best out of each pedal stroke
One of the strange things that we have in cycling is that it is rare to be taught to pedal, unless we've been coached or have been schooled within a good cycling club.
Quite often we see that cyclists have little technique, it is easy to observe by looking to see if they are stamping on the downstroke, which not only jars our joints, but wastes huge amounts of energy for little return. The result is that you will not only spend longer days in the saddle, but will fatigue your muscles, and put unnecessary strain on your knees, hips, etc. Expect to be spending somewhere in the region of five to seven hours riding each day, so the more efficient you can make the rotation of the cranks, the more power you can put through the back wheel, then the easier Ibiza going to be.
So without further ado let’s get into the technique.
Breaking down pedalling into four phases, you have the top of the stroke (the setup phase), the downward (or power) stroke, the bottom of the stroke (pull back phase) and the upstroke (lighten the leg phase)
Starting at the top of the stroke when the crank is in the 12 o’clock position. In this position is isn’t possible to create angular torque (force) on the pedal, so you need to get past this “flat spot” as fast as possible. A simple technique you should try is that just before your foot reaches this point, engage your core by pulling in your navel. By doing this we help engage the biggest muscles in our body, the glutes, plus engage your hamstrings and push your leg over this flat spot.
As you move to the downstroke engage your quads (these are the big muscles running down the front of your legs from the hips to the knee) as these are crucial for creating the downward force, hence the power. By engaging the glutes just before the top of the stroke we fully engage the quads muscles earlier through the power section of the stroke rather than midway (which is what happens when you stamp). Think of it as producing power when the crank is in the 1 o’clock position rather than the 3 o’clock position (ie half way through the downstroke)
As you reach the bottom on the stroke, you have a second flat spot. In your mind’s eye, think that you have a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe, and you want to dislodge it by sweeping the foot back as if you are wiping off the gum, this engages the hamstrings and calf muscles and lightens the leg so that it is not a dead weight that you are pushing against with the other leg on its power stroke. But you do not need to pull up with the hamstring and hip flexors, just use them to lighten the leg.
As an aside, firing the hamstrings relaxes the opposing muscle group, the quads, so your quads get a well deserved breather and can relax on the upstroke. If you are struggling with this concept, raising your heel at the bottom of the stroke will help to lighten that leg as it comes back, meaning your other leg does not have to push so hard against it otherwise acting as a dead weight.
Put this together, practise the technique on each ride, think about the four parts of the stroke one leg at a time, go into a higher gear than you normally would, spin faster in an easier gear, and think about the top and bottom of each stroke, engage your muscle groups, use your core to stabilise your body. We call this exercise “cadence drills” as per the training plan.
Just to clarify, it isn’t just about pedalling faster in easier gears, or building huge muscular strength. Below is the results of analyse that we do at Cycle For Fitness to understand how our clients generate power. This analysis helps us to understand how they pedal and the small changes that can be made to improve technique. For example, with this cyclist their optimal cadence is 87 rpm where they develop 320N/m/s, generating 952 Watts. If they grind at 65 rpm, maximum power they can generate is lowered to 800 Watts, and conversely if they pedal too fast they also lose power. We are all different and need to find our own balance between cadence and force, but you get the idea I hope.
After a few weeks of practise, your pedalling becomes smoother and more efficient, becoming more economical and basically go faster with less strain as you engage more of your muscle groups, reducing the fatigue in your quads, thereby keeping your pace for a longer period of time.
Keep checking regularly during the ride because it is quite normal for your pedalling technique to deteriorate when tired, so after a long ride, several hours of riding, check yourself, try to avoid stamping by changing up a gear and smooth your pedalling out.
At first cycling using these techniques can seem weird, mainly because you are starting to engage muscles that you possibly have not been using before, your glutes and hamstrings....bear with it, expect it to take a few weeks at the very minimum, but a correct and efficient pedal technique will bring you dividends in Ibiza and beyond.
Safe Cycling !