How to descend like a Pro 

Major point here! Professionals, to whom none of us can hold a candle, practicing basic skills! Makes me think of musicians, whom no matter how great, have to do scales and finger exercises on a daily practice. How many riders (and drivers) take time to work on the basics on a regular basis. Inspirational.

Not sure if you covered this but there is something called target fixation . If you ride a motorcycle you know what this is . Never fixate on a target . If you are behind someone descending look thru them to find your own line .

Another entertaining interaction with Daryl. Good useful tips, but more most of us, the best advice probably would be “don’t try to descend like a Pro . . . “ we don’t need their racing speeds, we need to ride safer.

Thank you for this video. I’ve been studying cornering skills for a few years now. This is the first video to describe (but not name) what I believe to be the key elements of the best technique. Some background, while I am a roadie, I also mtb and ski, specifically carving turns. The later is particularly useful because it overtly expresses what’s truly going on in the perfect turn. The key element is the act of compressing the tire into the ground. The coach’s advice to shift your weight to the outside leg, unweight the saddle a bit, bend the knees and really lean the bike over(not the rider so much) is all for the singular purpose of compressing the tires into the ground for maximum traction. When you max out the compression you are virtually carving a turn like a carving skier. All three sports are applying the exact same principle but only skiers clearly recognize it. The top downhill mtbers are very aware of it too. Roadies, even the top guys here aren’t overtly talking about it but the best are definitely doing it. I’m guessing because the actions are so much more subtle on a road bike. For the very best demonstration of this technique replay Pidcocks descent down down the Galibier on stage 12. Look at his outside leg, look at his offset from the bike, he is clearly leaning the bike in further then his body for the sole purpose of maxing out the download on the outside pedal in order to compress the tire into the ground. I think understanding what the essential goal is, ie tire traction via compression, is key to learning this technique. Once you know why you’re doing something you can better commit and develop the technique.

These videos just get better and better.

Interesting to hear you talk about drawing a line through the body from right hand to left foot. We talk about this fundamental in rock climbing all the time. Similarly placing pressure on the outside/downhill foot is the same principle as downhill skiing. I guess my younger years have set me up to be a good descender. Now if only I could remember that invincible feeling of my early 20s 😂

Great video Daryl!! first ever proper video on descending that everyone can understand!!

lol randomly stumbling on a descending video from an SA legend. Liked and subbed. Stay lekker.

I am practicing descent almost a month now. Thanks for all good points, I also not confident and always had a late braking before the corner BUT I am leaning towards a safer side since I am not racing. Little by little we can do the full enough speed in proper corner. Cheers!

Thank you Daryl. I've been cornering with my heel down, I'll go out tonight and practice heel up cornering. Never too old or pro to keep learning.#BeLekker and keep your slayer well oiled,cheers.

I was a first category rider in UK many years ago, but am pretty useless at fast cornering which was always my weak spot. I have since moved to the alps where descents are more of an issue than South East London/Kent where i used to race. I found this video pretty useful, I might be able to keep a bit closer to my adolescent sons on the descents one of whom has taken up road racing recently. So thanks for the video

In general try & keep shoulders square to the ground when cornering as that ensures you are over the centre of the plane.

Great vid Daryl! Very helpful tips. One tip I got was from a pro MTB'er, they don't bother dropping the outside foot, they go through a corner with neutral feet (more clearance). The thing they have is a dropper post so they can crouch down, lower the centre of gravity, lean out of the hill, tip the bike into the hill by pushing the inside arm down and slingshot the bike through the corner. Downhill skiing is the same principle, point knees into hill, lean out of hill, slingshot the corner relying on grip of ski edges. Keep up the great work and best of luck this season!!

Good work!

Great tips, thanks Daryl!

Great vlog and thanks Oscar.

Excellent video!! 👌 Thanks Daryl!

Good pointers, thanks 👍🏼 Did he mention anything about the inside knee? From motorcycling experience I find that opening up inside leg adds weight and air resistance to the inside and helps almost pull you into a tighter turn. Hope that explanation makes sense 🤷🏼‍♂️

Great tips. Thanks for the video. Can't wait to try this out once the snow melts and the temps get over 35⁰ F!! Happy holidays!!

GRANDE!!!

Gee is a absolute beast, looking forward to his year

Very usefull, thank you very much!

More of this PLZ.

Great video, Daryl. I started cycling many, many years after motorcycling and this has a rather significant difference in cornering. The braking concepts are the same, carrying speed out of the bend are the same, counter steering into the corner the same, getting tyre compression into the bend are the same, but the idea of putting weight on the outside pedal (or foot peg) and shifting off the seat to the outside are really different. Maybe that's why I'm a shite descender, as I've been doing it like I'm on a motorbike. Again, thanks for the great content.

Thanks Daryl. Interesting piece of info.

Strange, I was only thinking today that I need to find descending tips, as I have low confidence turning right on local high speed descent.

Excellent video. Hoping see Matthew Riccitello racing this year. 🇺🇸

Lekker bru, finally a vid with real tips. Dankie dankie

Thanks so much for very useful tips 🙏

Cheers Daryl, very helpful👍👏

this was very helpful, thanks so much Daryl.

i am kinda confuse at 6:16. in this situation, i will pull the left handle upward and push the right handle downard to carry move speed while aiming my line of descent. pressure is needed on both side though. because of g force and the down gravity. the pressure will be more naturally higher on right arm making the right arm more stiff and stable while the left arm is pulling in moderation. not and expert here but doing downhill sometimes.

One of the best video in RU-vid for tips on how to corner. Great content 👍. Any tips on breathing exercises?

Super helpful. Will try this for sure

Have been doing the near opposite re weight on the outside pedal and outside side of saddle, not anymore thanks Daryl. 👌🙏

Cool video, will try when the snow is gone

Good tip on pointing the foot, I've always dropped the heel I think. And it's always felt a bit of a stretch, keen to try.

super video Daryl. Alaphillippe and Pidcock better watch out you'll be on their wheel sweating them.

Great stuff. I wonder what Matej Mohorič thinks? The guy is insane on a descent..

Great vlog! What sort of tyre pressure do you run? Has it changed much since the tyres have got wider?

Thanks another great video! That screeching at @2:32 made me wonder. You came from rim brakes & when the peloton switched over was it nerve wracking at first hearing that noise on descents around you? Thanks again & good luck this season!!!

Coming from my motorcycle experience, think Roadbikes are all wrong. A 200kg thing that's longer and slacker with more rotating weight and wider tyres handles fine. Roadbikes are overly fidgety for no good reason. UCI? My bicycle descent experience is limited to my roadbike based citybike feeling terrifying at about 70kmh. Swapping a 1.3 for a 1.75 rear made it feel rounder already, leaning instead of kinda falling into a corner. I assume if you wanted most the performance of a roadbike on flat but better descending you'd use a light XC mtb with rigid fork and modified handlebar position, perhaps mount tt bars for flat. Smooth wide tyres2.0-2.8 like wtb thick slick or schwalbe Supermoto.

And just how do I learn not to overcook a corner without crashing?

May I know the brand of your jersey ?

Where is Michael Woods, I kid I kid but ... ? ;)

Get a dropper seatpost

nice now i don't feel like such a n00b practicing my cornering in empty parking lots 😂😂

I would be very careful with pushing down the inside of the handlebar as every skilled Mountainbiker knows this causes wash outs!

How many times in your whole career have you crashed?

Il Falcone"