Originally Posted by
grolby
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As for racing vs. not, I do not, at least consciously, take more risk - that is, descend faster - when racing than I do when just riding or training. If I wouldn't be willing to descend a given at over 35 mph when training, than pushing it out to, say, 38-40 mph when racing is just boneheaded. If you have not accumulated experience in training of descending at that speed under similar conditions, than pushing it up to the higher speed represents an increase of risk above and beyond what you get from the increase in speed.
I'd be willing to bet most people descend faster when they're racing. If I'm not racing these days I rarely try to see how fast I can go downhill. It's too much work, it does somewhat increase your risk, and theres no big payback squeezing out a few extra mph.
But if I'm in a race, and chasing to get back to the group after losing time on the climb, or bridging to a break, or off the front, I'm going to go downhill as fast as I possibly can. In those scenarios, there is a payback for the effort.