11 ways to descend like a demon

The testimonials on Oscar Saiz’s website speak volumes. From Thibaut Pinot: “I’ll never be the greatest descender, but Oscar’s really improved my downhill skills,” while Marianne Vos eulogises: “Oscar has the unique ability to feel where a rider’s boundaries are... and then push them that bit further, step by step.” Saiz is a former star on the mountain biking World Cup circuit, who now coaches descending skills to many WorldTour teams.

Currently working with Lidl-Trek, 50-year-old Saiz helps the world’s finest gain an edge downhill. To help you do the same, Cycling Weekly tapped into Saiz’s unique teaching talent. The Spaniard is supported in his mountainous mission by the experienced Marvin Faure, a British Cycling level-three coach who is based in the French Alps, where he runs his company Alpine Cols. With these two downhill specialists’ help, let’s break down rapid descending into its component parts for a whole lot more speed and safety.

Start out safe

We must begin, like every good personal growth journey, with a health and safety briefing. “The most important things to check on your bike before a descending session are the brakes and the tyres,” says Faure. “The brakes need to be fully functional, and the tyres should be undamaged and pumped up to the recommended pressure. Also check the steering, which should be silent and smooth when you wiggle the handlebars. Check the tightness of any bolts that may work loose, such as those between the stem and the bars.”

Saiz echoes Faure’s sentiments and adds a further note of caution: “If it’s raining or rain is forecast, reduce your tyre pressures slightly. For me at my 73kg weight, I’d drop from 90psi in the dry to 75psi in the wet. It helps grip.”

Keep it stable

“A balanced position on the bike is vital,” says Saiz. “This means you haven’t loaded your weight over the front or rear. In turn, this should also lead you into a nice, sustainable position on the drops.” Descending on the drops is the key skill to learn if you’re intent on riding faster and safer.

“There are six reasons why you should position your hands in the drops when descending,” adds Faure. “You lower your centre of gravity, so you become more stable on the bike; you’re more compact, again increasing stability; there’s more weight on the front wheel, which you need when descending fast; you have better grip on your handlebars for more control over surprises like potholes; you’re capable of a stronger and quicker pull on the brakes; and, of course, you’re more aerodynamic – the rider being responsible for 80% of drag.”

Your elbows should naturally tuck into your sides, lowering your chin towards the bar. Keeping the pedals level helps to keep a stable centre of gravity.

Get a grip

“How hard you grip the bars depends on how fast you’re riding, what the road surface is like and whether you’re alone or surrounded by other riders,” says Faure. “The general rule is that your fingers should be wrapped around the bars, but there’s usually no need to grip hard, certainly not all the time. Grip a little harder as you approach a rough surface or a corner, then relax once you’re back on smooth, straight tarmac. A good rule of thumb is to grip only as firmly as is necessary to ensure you keep hold – while avoiding unnecessary fatigue.”

Get comfy on the drops

If your major event is abroad and features 20km-plus descents – unheard of in the UK – you’ll need to practise on the drops to get used to the position. Back to Faure: “Start off by spending an increasing amount of time on your drops on a flat road. Then throw in gentle descents in the same position. You’ll gradually build confidence in that position, which you’ll take to longer, steeper, more technical descents.”

When it comes to descending practice, choose a shallower hill to begin with, riding it once or twice a week. Then find a steeper hill and do the same, before your confidence grows and descending becomes second nature.

Look where you want to go

The basic tenet of where to look is well ahead. “In short, look as far ahead or around the corner as possible,” says Faure. “That’s for two reasons. One is for safety – you want to spot upcoming obstacles – and the other is your bike will head where you’re looking.”

It’s not just about looking ahead, adds Saiz; you also need to interpret visual cues to anticipate where the road goes next. “Yes, you must work on the bike handling side and your bike position, but there’s the cognitive element, too – you must work on the skill of ‘reading the road’. How much distance and time do I have to slow down?” This ‘sixth sense’ develops with practice and confidence. “I like to work on one thing at a time. What are the braking distances? Where are we entering the corner? How are you going to exit this corner? I don’t mind repeating a small stretch of road many times, as that develops skill.”

Brake before the bend

The key is to brake before the corner and carry that momentum through it, rather than braking inside the corner, which disrupts the flow, scrubs speed and increases the chances of crashing. Saiz urges riders “to be comfortable and use the maximum potential of your brakes”, achieved by heading to a local road, setting a braking point at ‘X’ and seeing how long it takes you to stop. Ride and repeat.

“Brake as late as possible but before you start turning,” adds Faure. “How much speed you scrub depends on your skill and the sharpness of the bend.”

Use both brakes

“The physics of braking is skewed towards the front brake,” says Saiz. “Your braking force at the levers should be split around 70% front and 30% back. As long as you brake progressively, you won’t fly over the bars! No more than 70% pressure is the ideal. If you brake too hard with the back brake, you’ll skid. That’s because your front wheel is heavily weighted and your back wheel much less.”

Counter-steer smoothly

Leaning the bike into the corner is initiated by subtly turning the bars in the opposite direction to that of the bend. This may seem counterintuitive, and you may not even realise you do it. “There’s an almost unconscious counter-steer,” says Faure. “Turn the bars to the left and centrifugal force makes you lean to the right.” Lean is maintained by pushing down on the inside arm and outside leg.

Saiz refers me to a video where the former pro and now DS at Israel-Premier Tech Daryl Impey says: “One of the key things I’ve learnt is when you press your foot down on the outside pedal, don’t drop the heel; in fact, put pressure through the toes. It adds stability.”

Pick your line

How to pick the fastest line? “If you’re in a closed-road event, you can cut across both lanes,” says Faure. “That means entering a corner wide, darting in sharply to the apex and then exiting wide, using the whole width of the road.

“On open roads, look over your shoulder before the bend to ensure no- one is about to overtake you. Provided it’s safe, enter wide but remain on your side of the road. Start braking as you begin to move into the middle of the lane, and lift the foot that will be on the inside of the bend – this gives you more ground clearance and better weight distribution. Pick the entry line that best extends your line of sight through the bend.”

“Keep looking ahead and then push down on the outside leg, while keeping some pressure on the inside arm and on the saddle,” adds Faure. “You then increase the push down on the inside arm to maintain the lean. When you’re through the apex, keep looking forward, reduce the lean angle and, provided it’s safe, drift towards the edge of the lane as you exit the bend and resume pedalling.”

You must resist the temptation to take the closed-road racing line by carving across both lanes – it’s simply too dangerous on the open road.

Let sightline guide speed

The best descenders corner at up to 55kph (34mph). On open roads, you need to be realistic about being able to stop within your line of sight – if it’s a blind bend, take it cautiously.

“If the speed you’re descending at makes you apprehensive, you’re certainly going too fast for your current level of skill,” says Faure. “Better to back off and build your skills and confidence, and only then speed up. Someone who’s descending too fast for their ability is liable to react badly when faced with an unexpected situation such as a corner that tightens unexpectedly, or a vehicle in the middle of the road. The likely result is to snatch at the brakes, resulting in a crash.”

Allow for surface changes

There are two key contributors to tweaking your descending technique further: rain and rough surfaces. “If it’s raining, ensure you’re really effi cient with your braking,” says Saiz. “Position changes slightly, too. In the dry, you can go deeper and lean the bike more. There’s no scientific way to know the limits of grip. It’s an art you work on.”

What about bumpy roads?

“If the rough surface makes you apprehensive, slow down,” says Faure. “Tyre grip will be reduced and braking distances longer. The most dangerous is a loose surface, such as gravel. On a straight, usually you can ride through it without problems. Gravel or sand in a corner should be avoided like the plague, adjusting your line and your speed as soon as you detect it, either to avoid it completely or to go through it as upright and straight as possible.”