During the Classics season many of these single day events include short challenging hills. These steep technical parts of the course provide the tools to "select" the final group or break-away. Like a jack-hammer they literally break up the peloton. The Agony of 8 is an event that will help put those efforts in some perspective. In 8 weeks (from March - April) riders are expected to "attack" 8 different hills, recording their times trying to get into the top 25% for their respective age/gender Strava leaderboard(s). Riders may choose from a number of hills or make up their own. At the end of April times sheets will be turned into Roger and prizes distributed accordingly.
The agony of eight rules and hill options
8 “sprint hills” to be completed in 8 weeks
What: Top 25% (Strava age/gender/leaderboard) or improved time*
When: March 1 – April 25 (8 weeks) – 1 sprint/week average
How: Flying start on any bike/trainer/gear
Why: Training to improve pedaling strength and explosiveness – and to win a valuable prize (of course!)
Rule: You must record 8 times by the end of the 8th week (any order as long as all are completed by week 8)
*improved time: record a first try (any week from March-April) then an improved time by week 8
ZWIFT Sprint Hills with Strava Segments:
1. https://www.strava.com/segments/12128826 - Richmond
2. https://www.strava.com/segments/27139657?filter=overall - Richmond
3. https://www.strava.com/segments/17329459 - Alp D ZWIFT
4. https://www.strava.com/segments/17329478 - Alp D ZWIFT
5. https://www.strava.com/segments/27207823?filter=overall – New York
6. https://www.strava.com/segments/27207838?filter=overall – New York
7. https://www.strava.com/segments/27180127?filter=overall – Yorkshire
8. https://www.strava.com/segments/27207377?filter=overall – Yorkshire
FluGaz/Strava:
https://www.strava.com/segments/1058183 (use http://fulgaz.com/fulgaz-rides/?fg_ride=d6632fb79da9f71131353dac
Other outside “Real World” options:
1. Sprint Hill of your choice (H4 hill you use) – you record your first and final weeks times.
2. Any Strava short hill segments (any number you want to do)
To find the ZWIFT hills go to https://whatsonzwift.com scroll down to look for the right city/course click on it (say Richmond) then look for the possible routes that will take you to the hill you want to ride. Like any hill you'll have to ride to it (usually a good way to warm up). On the FulGaz app; start the app then search courses for The Muur and it should appear in a couple different routes, like The Tour of Flanders etc.
If the ZWIFT route with the hill you want to do is not scheduled the day you want to do it; you can go to your ZWIFT companion and create your own meetup allowing you to choose the exact world and route you want. You can also use a "nifty" app called zwiftpref which will also give you the options to choose the world/route you want any day you choose.
Your results sheet (download this form to keep track of your results). You will send me this file at the end of April.
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/check-these-six-key-tour-flanders-climbs-strava-218919 Here's an article covering 6 Strava segment hills in Flanders. Unless you live in Belgium or are going there soon, you'll have to find these hills on the FulGaz app. If you search in Belgium you will find most of them on the Tour of Flanders or Het Newsblad courses. Just as in the real world you will have to navigate yourself over the road to get to the hill(s).
When you're choosing your own hill, look for a short steep one that takes between 1-3 minutes to climb. Whether you do one of the recommended hills or your own It's important to choose 8 different hills because one of the important goals for this event is to develop your skill in learning, how to best evaluate a feature of a given course.
You may do any combination of 8 hills ZWIFT, FulGaz, or your own outside (or virtual). Always recon your hill and determine the best way to attack it for time, choosing your gear, your posture (i.e. in/out of the saddle), whether you go flat out all the way or pace yourself, etc.
To find the ZWIFT hills look on https://whatsonzwift.com. For the FulGaz - Muur hill search on FulGaz for Tour of Flanders (total course is only about 25km).