** Coaching Columns **
COACHING COLUMN by Otakar Dolezel
So here you are, contemplating your first criterium. Or maybe it is your second, the first having resulted in your being
blown off the back and having to ride on your own for most of the race. Or perhaps you are unwilling to consider a repeat
experience, not particularly eager for more humiliation, or more of that puckery feeling you get in the corners. Let's start
over and take a look at some of what goes on in a criterium and how you can better deal with it. These ideas are just
perspective but some are as effective as magic amulets.
Before you start, before you worry about what gear to be in or how aggressively to head for the first turn, think about this:
each rider has an intrinsic need for "personal space" throughout the race. Imagine it as being a little like a bath mat under
your bike, with space to the front, rear and sides, any invasion of which causes tension. It goes with you everywhere and it
changes size and shape, amoeba-like, depending on circulstance. Good riders seem to need a little less but all of us need it.
Be careful not to ride into someone else's space; not every hole is one you should fill. In corners, when a bike leans, the
space widens so stay out of the other rider's "fall zone" ; leave some room to the outside too. Personal space also lengthens
in turns. There may be spaces that look big enough for a bike to zip into but in actuality they are part of someone's
trajectory, a projection of their space, and a safety zone, not to be suddenly occupied. As you have probably already
experienced, the most common cause of cornering anxiety is violation of someone else's projected space.
Races are not won in the corners but they can most certainly be lost there! Corners, generally, are to be negotiated, not
raced. Put simply, a straight is anywhere where you can brake or accelerate and a corner is that brief point that connects
the straights. The best way through a corner is the one that is least disruptive to your momentum and to that of those around
you. You have to survive the turns to continue the race and it helps to be in a good spot at a good speed when you exit one.
But keep it simple - cornering incidents are usually caused by someone's unnecessary change in speed or direction.
Ride through the turns as if you were sitting in a bus; follow the rider directly in front of you and maintain a constant
distance between you. Even if the pack takes a less than optimal line through the corner, you must go where they go. Remember
that a good rider only slows as much as is absolutely necessary; if the rider in front of you can negotiate the turn safely,
you can too. Look up through the pack in the direction you want to go. The moment you enter the turn, look up the following
straight and your bike will automatically take you there.
As much as possible, keep pedalling through turns. This does not mean that you have to accelerate or risk catching a pedal.
Just because you are in a race, you do not need to pedal hard all the time, nor do you need to stop pedalling to slow down.
Learn to pedal at the same cadence while varying the pressure you apply. A rotating crank increases the stability of your
bike and pedal pressure enables control. Legs are massive objects and arresting their motion affects the bikes trajectory.
Besides, it takes more energy to start legs moving again than to apply power to a "soft pedal". In every turn, there is a
point or distance of a half to two meters where catching the pedal on the ground is a possibility. Learn to stop or slow your
pedalling at that point, with the outside foot down, just long enough to clear the apex, and then start to accelerate out of
the turn. You will find that pedalling, rather than coasting, will keep you closer to the front of the pack as you exit out
of each turn.
But the easiest, simplest trick to relieve anxiety and to restore control in corners, or anywhere else in the race for that
matter, is this - look up and - GRIN! This is not some weird New Age stuff, but sound psychology. Looking up slows your
perception of the action around you and leads you in the direction the race is going. It allows your peripheral vision to
deal with the wheels and bikes around you much more accurately and quickly than can you conscious attention. Looking up gives
you the perspective to act on the race as a whole, rather than react to the scary stuff. If you find all this confusing and
can only remember one thing - remember to grin. Grinning is amazingly effective. Try it and you will find that you cannot
stay tense. While grinning, you will ride more smoothly and efficiently and you will laugh at yourself for grinning and you
will actually start to have fun. You will grin some more and … well, we'll see you at the races.
Otakar Dolezel
NCCP Level 4 Cycling certified coach
Level : Level 5 in process
Full/PT : FULL
City : Toronto
Phone : (416) 252-3555
Fax : (416) 252-3555
Cell : (416) 854-1666
Email : otabikes@hotmail.com
Experience/Details : Coaching since 1965 in Europe, Canada and USA, Licensed USCF Elite Coach, Class 2 Official, Class 3
Mechanic. In Czech Republic Class 2 Coach.
Coached for UCI in China, National Team of Kazakhstan, in WCC at Switzerland, Nigeria National Team in Abuja.
Coaching Road, Track, and MTB Athletes from beginners to elite, all ages, women and men.