Hill training for preparation for Dolomites in Italy

[Travs]

If you think of training as replicating, then the best training is the most accurate replication. Hill reps will assist in pushing your fitness but its not as good as long sustained periods if that's what you are tackling.
In the Surrey Hills, despite the cheesiness of it, Box is better than some of the other bigger steeper hills for making you push through at a sustained rate like you will face, than a collection of shorter shaper kick-ups. Unfortunately you're looking at 7-8 minutes rather than hours and, like stated, coming back down gives you time to recover. Looking for good routes that will keep your HR up are good but the resistance on the pedals isn't the same - you could counteract this by pushing into one higher gear than you're comfortable to slow your cadence a little and increase the resistance perhaps?

 

[puffinbilly]

I won't have thought you would struggle to find hills to climb - there's the Simonside hills around Rothbury and the hills around Hexham and the Durham dales. A long continuous wind up of a hill is the Alston to Hartside pass. Have a look at the route of the Hell of Hexham route for some serious climbing. There's loads of good climbs around within thirty miles of you - even climbing from the Quayside in Newcastle to the top of Condercum road will give you a serious work out.
As to a flattish route of sixty miles or so - why not try cycling up the Tyne valley to Corbridge and back - that's sixty miles - or out to Bolam lakes or up to Duridge bay. There's a great mix of cycling right on your doorstep - hills that are steep and also flattish routes.

 

[HLaB]

Different climbs but for the Marmotte, Liege Bastogne Liege and the Tour of Flanders I found lots of hills and if they weren't long enough I joined them together but this year I'm trying what Ive been advised to do concentrating on shorter hard efforts and building my threshold :-/

 

[blackgoff]

I'd like to try for a long tdf climb etc.. The only way of fitness I feel would be to have good endurance and when there to pace yourself alot...just don't extend yourself ESPECIALLY for the 1st ⅔ of a long climb..

I'm in the NW and its pretty hilly but short steep like the original poster.

When I and a long time friend and trying partner rode over the Pennines (to see the tdf) after driving to Rossendale, I think it was. We started and the incline was 'immediate', near grinding at points, untill you could get the cadence up, as i was outta gears, upon starting over the Pennines - nice country areas over there tho..

Long hills/MTN's need to be taken steadily imo.