cornering is a major challenge for me as well so I'm glad to read the above advice. there are so many factors, tire tread, tire pressure, terrain, wet/dry conditions, camber, body weight, speed . . . the brain has to take all these factors into consideration in a split second and communicate instructions back to the body. I imagine that's what makes cyclocross racing so fun and challenging . . . and why experience really matters. we can all probably corner faster than we are . . . it's just a matter of finding the limit in a given corner . . . and to find the limit, you have to cross it a couple times, which means going down. someone once said "if you don't crash once per race, you're probably not going fast enough" . . . the clue that you are getting close to your limit is when the tire slips so it's good to increase speed on a given corner gradually until the tire slips, then you know you are close to the limit for that particular corner. and it's good practice to be able to maintain balance.