Braking
Braking
Needless to say, braking is a key part of descending – but the trick, of course, is to brake sufficiently to safely negotiate any corners or hairpins, without scrubbing off too much speed.
“Make sure you have slowed down before you hit the corner,” says Swift, who uses the front and rear brake in equal measure. “You never really want to be braking mid-corner because that’s how most crashes happen.
“Also, by braking before the corner, you can exit the corner with a bit of speed, rather than braking mid-corner and having to accelerate to get going again.”
Swift recommends paying particular attention to road conditions, when it is even more important to brake in advance of the corner, dropping to an appropriate speed, if the road is wet or greasy.
“A lot of climbs, particularly in the UK, can be tree-covered so the road can be super-slippery,” he says. “If it’s slippery then you want to make sure you are riding in a straight line when you are doing a lot of your braking.”
As you enter the corner, push your outside leg down to the six o’ clock position to provide more stability (and give your inside pedal more clearance), Swift says, and lean the bike into the corner.
“I was in Majorca recently and the roads are super-slippery if it’s wet,” he says. “Then you try not to lean over so much in the corners. Normally when it’s dry and fast, and you have a lot of grip in the road, then you can really go for it.”