What Is A Good VAM Cycling?

Are you a cyclist looking to improve your climbs and overall performance?

Have you heard of VAM (velocity ascent in meters)?

It’s a great way to measure your performance and track your progress.

Michele Ferrari, an Italian physician and cycling coach, suggests that for a cyclist to triumph in a mountain stage of a Grand Tour, they need to achieve a VAM between 1650 and 1800m/hour. In contrast, the average club cyclist can usually tackle climbs at a rate of 700 to 900m/hour.

In this article, we’ll discuss what VAM is, the value of VAM cycling scores, how to get a good VAM score, and how else you can use VAM to boost your cycling.

So if you’re ready to take your cycling game to the next level, keep reading!

What Is VAM?

VAM, or vertical ascent/meters per hour, is a measure of how quickly you can climb and surmount climbs when cycling.

This calculation considers all the elevation changes throughout your ride.

Rather than measuring your speed in terms of miles or kilometers traveled per hour, VAM measures your average climbing speed in vertical meters traveled per hour.

Invented by Italian coach Michele Ferrari, who was responsible for some of Lance Armstrong’s doping scandals, VAM has since become a commonly accepted metric used by both cyclists and racing teams to better track their performance on highly technical courses where race times are not as straightforward as flatter roads.

This way, riders and teams can use their power output effectively to reach achievable goals in inherently more challenging terrains such as mountains and hills.

Why Should I Care About VAM Scores?

VAM cycling scores are used to measure a cyclist’s performance while climbing hills.

VAM scores vary depending on the gradient of the hill being tackled.

High gradients will usually produce higher VAM scores than more moderate slopes for the same duration of time, as you have to work much harder at maintaining a high power output over such short distances.

Here’s what you can do by having VAM scores:

These are just a few examples of why knowing your VAM cycling scores is so important for competitive cyclists.

What Is A Good Vam Score?

Elite riders strive to reach a high VAM score, and the Tour de France serves as the benchmark for these elite cyclists.

In the Tour de France, riders need a VAM of between 1650 and 1800 m / h to win the competition, according to Dr. Michele Ferrari.

At the other end of the spectrum are riders who are grouped at the back of the pack and simply aim to finish within the time cut on more mountainous stages.

The VAM for this group is typically around 1100 – 1300 m/h.

However, most club cyclists usually have a VAM score of between 700 and 900 m / h.

For most athletes, anything above 1,000 meters/hour is usually seen as a very good result – indicating superior fitness levels and skill when compared with the majority of cyclists.

The Relationship Between VAM And Power Output

The connection between VAM cycling and power is often under-appreciated, though it can be a handy tool for performance analysis.

As you become stronger on the bike, it translates into increased wattage output – allowing you to ascend slopes faster than before.

By keeping track of the amount of vertical rise you cover in any given ride, you can compare your current progress with data from previous rides and better understand how hard you are working.

For riders without a power meter on their bike, VAM scores can provide a useful substitute when measuring performance levels.

Many bike computers will automatically calculate your VAM score during each ride and some even offer the option to compare different stats while out on the road.

Additionally, if you know your weight then you can use your VAM score to calculate an estimate of relative wattage based on the figures recorded during each ascent.

Effect Of Weather On VAM Scores

Cycling in different conditions can affect how much energy you use and your VAM score.

Weather impacts such variables as wind speed, terrain surface, and altitude – all of which play a huge role in determining how fast (or slow) you’ll move up the mountain.

Windy conditions require more effort from cyclists to propel themselves forward due to increased air resistance.

The most difficult cycling condition is usually high altitudes because of thinner oxygen levels and steeper terrain slopes.

How To Get A Good Vam Score

Getting a good VAM score is a great goal for any cyclist to strive for.

The first step in getting a good VAM score is to find the right climb.

Look for short, steep climbs, perhaps 1 kilometer or less, with an average gradient between 12-15% or more.

Make sure you are well warmed up before you hit full power, and reduce gear weight on your bike as much as possible; this will increase your speed and overall performance.

Once you’ve found the perfect hill and are ready to take it on, attack it with all your might and give it everything you have.

Your goal should be to finish the climb in one minute or less while still pushing yourself as hard as possible.

Remember that comparing your VAM scores on the same hills over time is a good mind of measuring improvements in fitness; using this metric can effectively help you set goals and track progress from month to month or week to week.

With some hard work and dedication, tackling those hills can have you reaching top performance levels faster than ever before.

Some simple strategies for improving your VAM score and optimizing performance:

Other Ways To Make Use Of VAM

Normally measured in meters-per-hour and referred to as “vertical ascent rate”, VAM is calculated by taking the altitude gained during a ride divided by the time spent riding and provides an objective measure of cycling performance.

This measurement can be used on its own or relative to other riders on the same course.

It also can be used unilaterally as a target pace for everyone on a group ride which makes it more achievable than trying to hit a specific speed that may vary with increased slope gradient.

You can also use VAM as an alternative metric to power when dealing with nonfunctioning power meters or rides without them.

This can help you personalize your workouts so that you’re pushing yourself during each ride while providing reliable and meaningful feedback from different rides you take on hills or flat terrain alike.

Furthermore, this method can provide team members who don’t have power meters with best practices for cycling since it cross-references elevation gain with duration instead of just overall speed.

How Do I Use Vam To Improve My Climbing?

To effectively track your progress using VAM, it’s crucial to ensure you’re comparing apples to apples.

Since VAM varies with gradient, comparing it across different hills or entire rides won’t provide accurate insights. Instead, focus on enhancing your VAM on a specific climb that you enjoy.

The most reliable way to use VAM is on climbs that you’re familiar with and ride frequently. This enables you to evaluate your efforts more accurately.

If you’re a Strava user, your local climb probably already has a segment; if not, creating one is a breeze.

This provides you with a start and end point, time, and elevation gain, without having to crunch the numbers manually. Plus, it ensures consistency in future endeavors.

Jot down the result, as that’s the benchmark you’ll be aiming to surpass next time.

You can do this after your ride, or have a live readout on your cycling computer.

Armed with this information for your familiar climbs, and displayed conveniently on your screen, you’re all set to boost your VAM.

Improving your VAM boils down to enhancing your climbing skills, which revolves around the power-to-weight ratio – a topic deserving an article of its own.

The goal is to increase your power while shedding weight. However, it’s critical to lose weight cautiously and maintain a nutritious, balanced diet to stay healthy and recover effectively between rides.

Boosting your power is all about training smart. In essence, ride your bike more often.

Set Up VAM On Your GPS Device

Setting up VAM on various devices may differ, but let’s take a look at how we can do it on a Wahoo Element Roam, for instance.

This way, we can display VAM on both the main screen and the climbing screen.

For Wahoo users, it’s easy to rearrange the VAM display by simply dragging it up or down using the three horizontal lines.

Moreover, you have the option to showcase VAM on a dedicated climbing screen, which can come in handy during uphill rides or when you’re chasing personal bests.

The setup process may vary slightly depending on which type of GPS device you have but most devices work similarly with regards to setting up VAM.

After following these steps, you’ll be able to monitor important statistics during each ride and gain valuable insight into improving your overall cycling performance. So get out there and start pushing yourself today!

Using VAM To Analyze Cyclists’ Performance As A Coach

VAM also gives coaches insight into how performance changes over time, allowing them to adjust the plan accordingly to get the best results from their athletes.

By tracking variables like intensity, duration, frequency, terrain difficulty, and more, coaches can ensure that every ride is tailored for maximum benefit.

VAM serves a dual role for coaches, acting as both a measure of climbing prowess and a pacing tool when other methods fall short.

1. Gauging Climbing Performance

Various media outlets and sports scientists employ VAM to evaluate an athlete’s climbing abilities in comparison to past achievements or rival performances.

It’s used to determine the authenticity of cycling results, although wrongful accusations can arise due to tailwinds.

Monitoring an athlete’s VAM during the season can provide valuable insights if a specific test climb is used to measure effort and performance.

As consistent weight measurements are often lacking, VAM can alternatively be utilized to approximate watts per kilo in the absence of precise weight data.

2. Navigating Pace Without Power Meter Or Heart Rate Monitor

Technology can fail us at times, like a power meter dying mid-ride.

In such cases or when an athlete doesn’t possess a power meter, familiarity with VAM can aid in assessing climbing efforts.

Overexerting on a climb during a triathlon, hilly road race, or time trial can prove detrimental.

Without power, athletes may find it challenging to rely solely on intuition for pacing, and climbs are often where breakdowns occur.

The secret to employing VAM as a pacing instrument lies in understanding the numbers associated with varying effort levels and mastering VAM’s technical aspects.

Just like with power, merely knowing the number isn’t sufficient – context is crucial.

Athletes might benefit from a climbing field on their bike computer to display climbing metrics during workouts or races.

The addition of ‘one-minute VAM’ as a metric can be beneficial in situations where a power meter or heart rate monitor malfunctions.

This field can be found on numerous bike computers by default or can be added using your computer’s companion app under ‘data fields.’

Mastering pacing with VAM requires experience.

After tackling long climbs with power in the past, your athlete should have a rough idea of the VAM numbers attainable for specific efforts.

Using VAM to monitor progress creates a feedback loop that encourages continuous improvement.

Not only does it enable coaches to identify strengths and weaknesses among individual riders but it also reinforces positive behaviors such as proper pacing and appropriate rest intervals.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a professional cyclist aiming to compete in competitive events, you should aim to have a VAM score of between 1100 to 1600 m/h.

VAM itself is a metric that provides valuable insight into your performance, especially in the absence of other data.

Additionally, it can serve as a useful backup if any technical issues arise while measuring effort and performance.

Ultimately, regardless of its perceived age, VAM is an invaluable tool for coaches looking to get deeper insights into an athlete’s progress and performance.