That is interesting. I wonder if the front wheel still has traction at that point? Because if it does, you might be able to save that, by throwing the rear end around, as you would on a mtb. However that is so unheard of in road cycling that I feel the front wheel has probably already lost traction.
You corner equally badly every time, in my opinion. Youāre just not as unlucky as the time you crash. To not rely on luck, increase the margins by better body position and better line. Then, even if unlucky, you wonāt crash.
Was your speed exactly the same every time? It appears you are going a bit faster when you fall but I canāt say that with any certainty. Your form doesnāt look different so maybe you were lucky those other times you didnāt fall. I also found the following article on leelikesbikes about railing road corners. It has some athelete interviews from the Red Bull Road Rageā¦which is absolutely insane if you can find video of it on youtube. Anyway, he talks about form amongst other things: Torso low and level, looking through turn, hips cocked to the outside-bike leaned more than body, weighting outside pedal.
Give it a read when you have a minute. Here is a youtube clip of the event: Red Bull Road Rage - YouTube
In my opinion there could be a couple of contributing factors in your slide out - from my point of view wearing brand new tyres is a race is a no no, i will always run in a set of tyres prior to racing them. Secondly, i think you could improve your centre of gravity (lower your body further), bend at the elbow, point your inside knee through the turn and tuck your arm inside your knee. You can also shift your weight slightly by sliding your left butt cheek more onto your saddle and then re-centre your weight when you attack at the exit as you intended.
Glad there was no major damage done.
And yet, here they are, all dropping their inside kneesā¦
Iām pretty sure you are wrong. I just rewatched Julian Alaphippeās yellow jersey saving decent from the TdF. He definitely leans the bike more than body. So if one of the, if not the best descender in the pro tour leans his bike more than his body, Iām going to go with that.
Try to keep your body upright and lean your bike as much as possible through a high speed corner on asphalt. Also, follow the other newbie advice and donāt touch the brakes in corners. Let us know from the hospital how it went.
Again: In cycling you can suck at cornering and still win. Just as you can suck at swimming and still win in triathlon. That doesnāt mean that thereās no room for improvement.
If I want to learn how to swim, I look at swimmers, not triathletes. If I want to learn how to corner, I donāt look at road cyclists.
Got it. So the takeaway here is that Alaphilippe is a newb who sucks at cornering, and utilizes newbie advice.
Glad we cleared all this up
Mediocre at cornering technique, with excellent tyres. For someone 20 kg heavier and worse tyres, you need all the technique you can get, if you want to be maximally safe/fast through corners.
Got it. So youāre sticking by your statement that arguably the best performing descender in the pro tour is āmediocreā technique wise?
You can lean your bike more than your body, AND drop your inside knee at the same time. In fact, this is what most people you see descending do.
In fact, I was just at the lakefront this weekend for CX practice, and the two kind of go hand in hand. Pushing the bars down tips the bike over, kicking the knee out clears space for the top tube, allowing more space for the bike to lean.
Iām sticking to the statement that you donāt need to have excellent cornering technique to win something in road cycling. As you donāt need to be an excellent swimmer in triathlon or boxer in MMA.
Fair enough, and I donāt even disagree with that. But that isnāt exactly what the conversation has been about though.
I think all here have conceded that Alaphilippe, and other pro tour riders, descend with increased bike lean relative to the body. You seem to be sticking to the view that all of them are doing it wrong, and that they should in fact be doing the exact opposite (less bike lean than body).
Yes, I am, since you increase the risk of losing traction with increased bike lean.
Look at supermoto cornering. Motorcyclists on asphalt, sliding in corners, keeping their body upright. Itās a totally different technique when you slide under control, as you do on mountainbikes.
I just listened to the podcast and our good friends Jon, Chad and Pete addressed this issue of bike/body lean in road cycling, vs motogp vs motox. Have a listen! I found it so insightful.
Lean both, but lean the bike more! - this bloke knows a thing or too about going downhill fast (video here).
Motorcyclist here too and unfortunately I agree with the others.
Its all about COG relative to tyre contact which is completely different when concerning 200kg + 40% on top vs. 10kg + 800%.
Not to mention contact patch, tyre compounds and forces etc etc etc.
You are far too upright and your arms are straight.
Being upright puts your centre of mass too high and too far back and reduces front wheel grip. Hip hinge to get your COM closer to the bottom bracket - the Nibali/Sagan picture is an extreme, but the other picture from Nateās race is a good example - especially the guy on the inside. Note that all their torsos are much closer to horizontal than yours and the guy following you.
Straight Arms prevent small indentations from being absorbed - the front tyre will be momentarily unweighted and youāll lose traction. Iām pretty sure you start to go down when you hit a seam in the paving.