On this edition of the Ask Coach Parry Cycling podcast we chat around how to improve your technical skills when it comes to handling those switchbacks on your training rides.  We look at the difference in dealing with uphill switchbacks and downhill switchbacks.  Our cycling coach Devlin Eyden gives some valuable advice on this subject that will make it easier for you to improve on your handling skills.

Transcript

Brad Brown:         You’re listening to the Ask Coach Parry Cycling podcast, Cycling edition and we’ve got a question in from Catherine today, Devlin Eyden, our cycling coach joins us once again.

Devlin, a question in from Catherine, she’s saying: I’ve just entered the 2017 Old Mutual joBerg2c, after doing my first one this year – well done Catherine, fantastic effort – she says she’s struggled with the switchbacks, there’s a couple of stages where there are some crazy switchbacks on joBerg2c, and she wants to know, how do you get better at riding them, from a technical perspective, what’s the best way to attack them?

Ride more switchbacks to improve your technical skills

Devlin Eyden:      Ja, so I think the only way to get better at switchbacks is to ride more switchbacks. There’s not often a lot of places where we do ride on our typical training rides where we are getting that sort of exposure. I think firstly, get confident with your skills, if you feel you might benefit from, there are various skills clinics that are always available, I think that’s always a good idea. Then there’s two sort of things in how to tackle the switchbacks themselves. It depends also, are we referring to uphill switchbacks or downhill switchbacks.

When we’re referring more to climbing switchbacks, you typically want to shift the weight over the front wheel a little bit, so you are keeping the weight down and you don’t always have that feeling of your front wheel wanting to lift up. In saying that, it’s more a shift in the centre of gravity than putting too much weight and pressure on the handlebars themselves because what tends to happen is, if you do hit a rock or something technical and you’ve got a lot of weight on the handlebars themselves, it’s easy to kick that front wheel out and for you to lose your line that you’re riding.

Keep a consistent, comfortable cadence for your switchbacks

With that is to make sure that you’ve got a consistent, comfortable cadence that you are riding and you’re keeping momentum up the whole time. From a downhill point of view and the tight downhill switchbacks, you obviously want to be shifting your weight backwards over the bike, to make sure you don’t go over the front and the key here, you’re generally going to have a little bit of speed with you. The key here is the whole time is looking out of the turn. So, the turn, looking out of the turn, again is, more looking ahead of where you’re riding and looking where you want to be exiting the timelines and use your head and your hips to lead your bike and lean the bike.

Your head weighs a fair amount and you will use your head actually to guide the bike in that direction. More importantly, be confident with the skills that you do have, get as much exposure to it as possible and at the same time, ride within yourself. More often than not on these bigger races as well, is you’ve got a lot of guys coming and putting pressure out behind you, you need to almost drown that out and worry about yourself, for your own safety as well. Don’t let them put too much pressure that makes you take unnecessary risks on those sections.

BB:         Absolutely, Catherine, best of luck and sadly there’s no magic pill, it just means getting out there and riding more of them, but on that route of the Old Mutual joBerg2c, who wouldn’t want to ride more of those, wow, what an incredible race. Devlin, thank you very much for your time once again here on the Ask Coach Parry podcast, until next time, from the two of us, it’s cheers.