This was written by Chris Carmichael and published on the Nissan/Master the Shift Facebook page. I didn't find an easy way to share the link to it, so I'm pasting the whole thing here.
I've read many things about cornering, but have never fully understood it until I read this yesterday. I am common-sense-challenged, so I never thought about the "lean your bike and not your body" part in step 3 -- while I was out riding last night I realized that consciously keeping your body upright does help with control while cornering.
What Goes Up Must Come Down – and Fast!
July 27, 2010
By Chris Carmichael
As I look back over the 2010 Tour de France, there are a few key moments that changed the race for the yellow jersey. First was the prologue, because it was there that Andy Schleck lost 42 seconds to Alberto Contador. Then there was the Stage 2 neutralization following the “Stockeu Massacre,” Stage 3 on the cobbles, Stage 8 when Lance crashed before the Col de la Ramaz, and Stage 13 when Andy Schleck’s dropped his chain while launching an attack. Descending skills really came into play that day, because Schleck crossed the summit of the Port de Bales 13 seconds behind the group containing Alberto Contador, but couldn’t catch up to that group on the descent. Had Schleck rejoined Contador – either before the summit or on the descent – Contador wouldn’t have taken the yellow jersey that day, and perhaps wouldn’t have won the 2010 race at all.
To win the Tour de France you have to be able to go uphill extremely fast, but you also have to have the skills and the nerves to drop down the descents like a stone. For recreational cyclists, going downhill is the reward for reaching the top, but at the Tour de France there’s nothing relaxing about coming down out of the clouds. The climbs are exhausting, but relatively slow. Correcting for a poor line through a turn is pretty easy when riding uphill, but extremely difficult when flying down.
Traveling at 60 mph, you cover approximately the length of a football field (300 feet) every 3.4 seconds. With corners, rocks, potholes, etc. coming at you that quickly, you have to pick your lines early. If you miscalculate your speed or take the wrong line, you’re likely to hit the ground… or a wall, signpost, or parked car… at 40-60 mph with only your shorts, jersey, and a plastic helmet for protection. When Lance Armstrong crashed during Stage 8, he was traveling about 40mph. In 1995, one of Lance’s teammates, Fabio Casartelli, was killed when he crashed headfirst into a concrete barrier on a descent.
While I don’t recommend anyone try to match the speeds reached by Tour de France riders when going downhill, you can use the same techniques they do to go downhill safely, quickly, and confidently:
1. Control your speed before you enter a turn. Most of your braking should be done before you lean the bike over into a corner. If you wait until the middle of the turn to figure out you’re going too fast, grabbing a handful of brakes will send you into a slide.
2. Position yourself correctly on the bike. Your weight needs to be on the pedal facing the outside of the turn and the inside hand. Having your outside pedal down not only assures your inside pedal won’t hit the ground, but it also helps keep your center of gravity over the tires. Pushing your inside arm into the corner helps ensure you have sufficient weight over the front wheel, and if you’re headed a little too wide coming out of the turn, pushing hard will tend to bring you back toward the inside.
3. Lean the bike and not your body. The more you lean your body, the farther your center of gravity moves away from where your wheels are contacting the ground. To maintain traction, you want your center of gravity over the wheels, so plant your weight on your outside foot, push the bike over with your inside arm, and keep your head and body upright.
4. Look through to the exit of the turn. Your bike will go where you are looking, so focus on where you want to go. Don’t look at the guardrail unless you want to get acquainted with it. The same is true for any cycling situation.
