Picking the right line through corners
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Picking the right line through corners
Below you will find the video. It's best to start at 46 seconds if it doesn't already do that for you. I may just didn't know what you think of the lines I am taking. I was watching this video from last year and noticed that other people were doing it 1 million different ways. What's your advice? I know that...
Is that right in cyclocross? Watch and help me out if you would be so kind.
- you are supposed to carry as much speed as possible
- come into the apex from the outside
- and pedal through
Is that right in cyclocross? Watch and help me out if you would be so kind.
#2
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Watch some World Cup races
Below you will find the video. It's best to start at 46 seconds if it doesn't already do that for you. I may just didn't know what you think of the lines I am taking. I was watching this video from last year and noticed that other people were doing it 1 million different ways. What's your advice? I know that...
Is that right in cyclocross? Watch and help me out if you would be so kind.
- you are supposed to carry as much speed as possible
- come into the apex from the outside
- and pedal through
Is that right in cyclocross? Watch and help me out if you would be so kind.
1) Lines change with course condition, tactics, other riders, etc. Go watch some Svenness (google it) videos. He's always doing stuff nobody is.
2) Fast line is not always the best line....if your bunched up you may need to protect your line, keep tight going into a corner so nobody sneaks in and blocks.
3) Generally tape to tape is the best...but that doesn't take into consideration the worn in racing 'line', ruts, berms, etc. that build up over the course of a race.
4) Also, you need to think about upcoming corners....the fastest way through corner #1 may mess you up for corner #2 .
I like thinking of a cross course as a whole, each corner plays off the next. You can be slow through a section, losing -5 seconds, only to recover and kill the next section and be up +10.
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I couldn't really judge your lines from the video. Nothing looked awful.
In isolation entering a corner wide, hitting the apex and exiting wide is a smooth way to go, but as nickw says above if someone is on your wheel they can dive to the inside ahead of you and even if their turn is slow yours will end up slower and they'll pass you. That happens to me all the time because I just don't have the handling skills to choose from a variety of lines.
One mistake I made all the time as a beginner was letting the tape tell me what the shape of a corner was and where it started. A lot of times the course is taped out in an S-shape but you can shoot a nearly straight line through it if you plan ahead. With U-turns the tape will generally give you a wide arch around the apex but riding past the tape on the inside before you start turning doesn't make the turn any more gradual.
In isolation entering a corner wide, hitting the apex and exiting wide is a smooth way to go, but as nickw says above if someone is on your wheel they can dive to the inside ahead of you and even if their turn is slow yours will end up slower and they'll pass you. That happens to me all the time because I just don't have the handling skills to choose from a variety of lines.
One mistake I made all the time as a beginner was letting the tape tell me what the shape of a corner was and where it started. A lot of times the course is taped out in an S-shape but you can shoot a nearly straight line through it if you plan ahead. With U-turns the tape will generally give you a wide arch around the apex but riding past the tape on the inside before you start turning doesn't make the turn any more gradual.
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#4
Tiocfáidh ár Lá
Nick sums it up well. One thing I would add and I see all the time is that people are afraid to take the optimal line because it's all worn out and muddy looking and looks slippery so they look for some outside grass area thinking they can keep grip better. In most cases it's still best to just take the best line rather than try and avoid it. IF you are new to cross and racing in cat 5 or 4 then stick around the whole day and watch the rest of the race especially in corners that you had problems with. Look at what the cat 1/2's are doing and you will learn a lot.
#5
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It all depends. On a course like the one in your video, you can get away with a lot because it's just not that technical - the ground looks relatively smooth, the turns seem pan-flat, lots of room, good traction, etc. That's actually what's fun about a grass crit - it's easy to experiment with different lines, and you won't really screw up if it's not optimal.
It's important, like nick said, to experiment with different lines, definitely during your pre-ride, sometimes during the race as well when conditions change. Though the conventional wisdom of outside-inside-outside is correct much of the time, sometimes ground conditions or camber or what have you can make this not the optimal line. An example: a straightforward 90-degree right turn into a downhill at Gloucester last year. The standard line on a turn like this is to come as tight to the apex as possible, both because it's normally faster and because the turn was more off-camber further to the outside. And that's what most people were doing. But that inside line was extremely loose and bumpy. I found that, for me anyway, I was faster sticking more to the middle of the course through that turn, in spite of the fact that it was not what you would conventionally consider the fastest line. So try different things and you'll have a leg up, because most of your competitors won't.
It's important, like nick said, to experiment with different lines, definitely during your pre-ride, sometimes during the race as well when conditions change. Though the conventional wisdom of outside-inside-outside is correct much of the time, sometimes ground conditions or camber or what have you can make this not the optimal line. An example: a straightforward 90-degree right turn into a downhill at Gloucester last year. The standard line on a turn like this is to come as tight to the apex as possible, both because it's normally faster and because the turn was more off-camber further to the outside. And that's what most people were doing. But that inside line was extremely loose and bumpy. I found that, for me anyway, I was faster sticking more to the middle of the course through that turn, in spite of the fact that it was not what you would conventionally consider the fastest line. So try different things and you'll have a leg up, because most of your competitors won't.
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Excellent video. The woman pushing the stroller in front of the sand pit at 7:50 was hilarious.
You looked fine.
You looked fine.
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My personal mantra is "find the traction". If I have to go a little wide to get up something or be able to accelerate out of a corner I'll usually do it.
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