[5150dhbiker]

Ok, so for once I'm going to post something on here that I consider a serous topic (for me at least).

So, my race result consistency has gone down the sh$tter and I'm trying to figure out why. Ever since I upgraded to Pro two years ago I seem to be able to pin practice and keep up with most people but race runs just throw it all away and crash.

Now I know some of it probably has to do with pressure and seeing the competition and knowing how good they are but that's all I can think of. For example the other weekend at the National Champs, JD started behind me (I pulled over for over a min. in qualifying so I could avoid high winds in the finals). I know at the start I was thinking "don f**k this up because he's way faster then you." Next thing you know 3/4 of the way down I'm lying on the ground in a corner with 50 people screaming at me to get up.

Any suggestions? I'm sort of at a loss right now and with that crash fracturing my ribs and re injuring my torn rotator cuff I'm getting really really frustrated. Kind of hoping there's some more experienced guys on here that can give me some advice! Thanks!!

 

[weedkilla]

Practice like its a race and race like its practice - its a cliche, but seriously it works. Always make sure you do at least a couple of runs every time you go out "thinking" that its a race run. Make sure you push yourself to the limit. Half the time race crashes occur because you try and go quicker than in practise and hit things out of shape. The other half its because you get so knackered you start making mistakes, this is real - you go anaeorobic and your coordination goes out the window. Get your lines, speed, and how much effort you can put in without losing the plot, dialled in practise and stick to the script.

 

[Beast]

Read a few sports psychology books. I'm sure someone on here can recommend a good one.

 

[Tdiddy]

have a game plan and stick to it. the other advice was really good, you need to be going race pace more often so it's not such a big deal during your race run. but knowing your speed at each section, pedal and braking points, and sticking to that helps take the pressure off. Try focusing on something else as well, like try and keep your bike as quiet as possible while you're riding, or focus on listening to your breathing. This won't help you go any faster, but will take your mind away from "oh my god I'm racing, I blew that last line so have to go faster here crash..." kind of mentality.

 

[Lelandjt]

That's the Pro class. You won't podium unless you're riding right on the edge or you're one of the handful of guys that can go that fast comfortably. It's tough but there's no Semi-Pro anymore and no glory in beating up on the Cat 1s. My goal is to have clean runs, no crashes, and make the top 10.
It's obvious that you're crashing cuz you're exceeding your limits so either get better or back it off to 95%.

 

[5150dhbiker]

This won't help you go any faster, but will take your mind away from "oh my god I'm racing, I blew that last line so have to go faster here crash..." kind of mentality.

HAHAHAHHA, that is SOOOOO true. That's exactly how my mind works!
Going to have to try those suggestions though for sure!
Thanks for those, any other suggestions? My plan is to start experimenting with these during the Fontana winter series and then hopefully by the end of that have something to bring to the bigger races.

 

[Kanye West]

Knapps runs - 2 warmup/practice runs, 1 timed race run.

Find someone with a Garmin unit to record your runs to see if you are actually going any faster through certain sections at "race pace" or if you're just running ragged. Break it down by section, and see what mentality in certain parts ACTUALLY makes you faster.

 

[demo 9]

Just something i always do for races, might not be 100% guaranteed to make u win, i increase the psi a tad and sometimes rear rebound a click, your going faster and hitting stuff harder.

 

[gemini2k]

Downgrade to expert, and get your mojo back. Racing performance is mostly mental. You've probably lost that little something that lets you push it, but stay (somewhat) safe.

 

[downhill mike]

Any suggestions? I'm sort of at a loss right now and with that crash fracturing my ribs and re injuring my torn rotator cuff I'm getting really really frustrated. Kind of hoping there's some more experienced guys on here that can give me some advice! Thanks!!

Who's your coach? He can help you with that stuff. The Betterride clinics help with that. I have never been a customer to one, but I was the shuttle driver for a few of Gene Hamilton's clinics. He's great at teaching what you need to know to race and win. Mountain biking is one of the few sports that most pros do not have a coach. The reason for that is the expense, but that's my advice if you are serious about winning or doing your absolute best on your race run.

 

[Beast]

Downgrade to expert, and get your mojo back. Racing performance is mostly mental. You've probably lost that little something that lets you push it, but stay (somewhat) safe.

Don't do this.

 

[bizutch]

sounds like you need to start doing 2 things:
1. timed and non timed sessioning. You do a 20-30 second section repeatedly (maybe a 4-5 minute push back up). Knock it out a ton and modify your lines for no reason. Just keep taking different lines, manualing, skimming, drifting, no braking, changing it up like cray. You'll be amazed at constantly trying wrong lines and dumb manuvers will make your main speed line that much faster.

2. As alluded to before, pin at least one run in practice each day, fully gassed out to get a feel for having blown legs, stiff arms and your heart in your throat at full speed 3 minutes deep into a tech run.

Most of us screw up our race run because we never replicate panic speed in practice. Your body is a different animal to deal with at it's limits and if you don't practice riding at your full limit, you won't be able to handle it in a race run.

 

[SCARY]

Butchs' advice is much better than"downgrade to expert"-Jesus it took me 10 years to get here, I ain't giving it back.I go through the same thing as you.All my good runs happen when I really just don't care.And that happens for me if I've practiced at speed for as much as possible.It also helps me ,the previous week before a race is to hit the mx track a couple times.I dont get burnt out on the bike and it makes DH seem alot slower.
The first day at race practice,I'll stop and check out lines.But after that, I try to do full runs at near speed,cuz that race day heart rate catches you by surprise
.I'm in the same boat as you,let's not feel sorry for ourselves.We can find our mojo right where we are.....I think I saw mine attached to the course tape on the 2nd highspeed drifter to the right.

 

[FOXROX]

some good tips in here, i like the idea of "Practice like its a race and race like its practice"

seems like it would calm you down.

 

[5150dhbiker]

Who's your coach? He can help you with that stuff. The Betterride clinics help with that. I have never been a customer to one, but I was the shuttle driver for a few of Gene Hamilton's clinics. He's great at teaching what you need to know to race and win. Mountain biking is one of the few sports that most pros do not have a coach. The reason for that is the expense, but that's my advice if you are serious about winning or doing your absolute best on your race run.

Ya, I was thinking about trying one of those. Only problem with me is money but think it might be worth it.

Going to also try timed runs and race pace runs in practice for sure. I know that that's one area I really really lag in. Usually I'm taking some breaks in practice and I'll hit sections fast but then stop and can't link them together at those speeds in race.

But ya, I need my race run pics. to stop looking like this

 

[Kanye West]

I think it was Brian Lopes that said "Anyone can hit a section fast or smooth, but not everyone can do it at 180 bpm" or something to that effect. Are you usually crashing late into the runs or early on?

 

[5150dhbiker]

I think it was Brian Lopes that said "Anyone can hit a section fast or smooth, but not everyone can do it at 180 bpm" or something to that effect. Are you usually crashing late into the runs or early on?

Well...I'm very inconsistent with that also Angel Fire I crashed within the first 30 seconds or so. In Sol Vista that was about 3/4 of the way down the course I believe.


Here's my race run in Angel Fire. Keep in mind that when I hit the tree, it popped my shoulder out again (torn rotator cuff) so I was very week and in a lot of pain. Couldn't hold a line and just had to coast the rest of the way down. By the finish I was able to start to go quick again...mostly because there were people watching and even if I'm in pain...i try to go fast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/57xIZE7BR5w&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/57xIZE7BR5w&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 

[Kanye West]

Is your heart rate through the roof when you are in the gate at the countdown?

 

[5150dhbiker]

Is your heart rate through the roof when you are in the gate at the countdown?

HAHAHAHA, nope but you do hear it

I knew the hell of angel fire was about to ensue.

Pretty sure what contributed to my crash was a lack of focus. You hear my gears when I'm going around the corner trying to pedal and that first distracted me. Then I launch sideways off the log jump and by then I was pissed. Next thing you know "ahhhhh...TREE!"

 

[Kanye West]

Just keep your mind and your eyes on the horizon and calm down. Don't worry about getting sketchy through sections - once it's happened it's already in the past, and the clock doesn't give a sh!t about style. Look at where the finish line is off in the distance (even if it's actually out of sight) and let your body do what it knows how to do with the bike to reel that finish line in as quick as possible.

For practice, go race an enduro-qualifier out in the desert on your CRF. They're cheaper than a DH race. It's pretty much a bunch of time-trials in a row with a mellow pace in between. This way, you get something like 7 long timed sections in a day on a huge variety of terrain. Open stuff, nasty hillclimbs/descents, ripping singletrack, crazy rocky messes, whatever. You don't get to see any of the stuff beforehand either, so your mind and body have to be really consistent and calmed down to do well and be prepared for anything. That kind of riding WILL teach you to look ahead and calm down.

 

[Kanye West]

Appears that you're at about 160bpm at the starting line. I would start with that.

 

[gemini2k]

HAHAHAHA, nope but you do hear it

I knew the hell of angel fire was about to ensue.

Damn dood, you can even hear it in the middle of your run!! By my count your at about ~150 in the gate, and 185 or so after your crash. Nothing crazy, but your gate heart rate might be a tad on the high side. Maybe try learning some calming exercises to do before your runs, either while your in the gate or just before while your waiting? A little fear is good before a run, but too much nervousness can kill your focus and such. You're not a bad rider at all (obviously) so its gotta all be in your head.

Do you try visualization mental exercises before your runs? Run through the whole track in your head and see yourself hitting sections properly and cleanly?

Edit:

Also that track looks f-ing awesome.

 

[bizutch]

please explain why you would want to lower your heart rate before a max effort pro race run? You should be sweating with an elevated heart rate in the gate.

 

[Kanye West]

In his case it seems to be more of a detriment. Gotta start off calm and cool for a few races then work into being comfortable at race pace with your heart exploding.

Watch Barels winning run from Maribor (I think?) last year. Crosses the finish and pops off his helmet and he looks like he about as worked up as a sleeping cat. The guy has complete control of the bike and his mind and his body.

 

[gemini2k]

please explain why you would want to lower your heart rate before a max effort pro race run? You should be sweating with an elevated heart rate in the gate.

You want to be warmed up yes. Your heart shouldn't be pounding out of your chest from nervousness though, that's how you make mental mistakes.

 

[Pslide]

This is probably the best thread I've read on RM in a year.

 

[SCARY]

"Mastering mtn bike skills"Brian Lopes/Lee McCormack phenomenal book.Goes over alot of stuff we already know,but there's alot I forgot and it puts a champions' mindset to it(Lopes not lee)Lee makes it light hearted and funny.They go over alot of mental stuff that isn't just from back o the pack shmucks.Everybody should get that.And don't share it with your friends ,they'll get faster.

 

[Floor Tom]

You are talking to yourself down the track, which to me means you are dwelling in things that have gone wrong. You say something about your gears just after they have slipped, you need to be forgetting about those things straight away and focusing on the next part of the track. Try doing some timed runs at a local track and don't alow yourself to stop if you make a mistake, just carry on. Aim to spend a day timing a decent length section (I'd say at least 30 seconds, a minute if you can) and finish with a consistant preformance i.e. times very close to each other for the majority of your runs.
Like they say, "To finish first, first you must finish"

 

[DHracer1067]

Pretty sure what contributed to my crash was a lack of focus. "

I was about to say that. in the vid it looked like you just stopped following any sort of line just going all over the place like you were lost or something. Replay the course in your mind before going off and as you are going down. during practice you gotta remember what comes after each little section then if you have a really good memory of what the course is just keep it in your head during the run so you always know where you need to be and when you need to brake and all that other stuff.

 

[johnnypop]

dmr moto timer on Knapps... I bought one for Northstar, super fun to race myself... a few runs on Knapps and decided on a few good 'splits' and you can test your own lap times.

 

[thom9719]

You are talking to yourself down the track, which to me means you are dwelling in things that have gone wrong. You say something about your gears just after they have slipped, you need to be forgetting about those things straight away and focusing on the next part of the track. Try doing some timed runs at a local track and don't alow yourself to stop if you make a mistake, just carry on.

Exactly, One of the best things I've heard this year is that the world cup pros make as many mistakes as we do, they just recover from them a lot better.

If you get off your line, you have to keep going and react quickly. keep looking ahead and focus on what's next (IE, what you have control over!) the past is over and you can't change it, so get it out of your mind!

It really helps to take practice runs without stopping. usually I use saturday practice to do full runs. you need to get in the zone of not stopping, no matter what.

-KT

 

[Kanye West]

dmr moto timer on Knapps... I bought one for Northstar, super fun to race myself... a few runs on Knapps and decided on a few good 'splits' and you can test your own lap times.

This is the same thing I was referring to with the Garmin, but you can compare/watch the position of the rider on two different runs to see where you'd gain on yourself or pull away. Just the next level of detail beyond split times. You can narrow it down to the exact corner or section where you lose time.

But I agree with the above, I didn't listen close enough into the riding to hear the talking.

Watch Atherton, Hill, Peat or Minnaar. They make little flubs everywhere, but they take it all in stride. If you see frontal views of them, you can watch their front wheel getting slidey and their eyes never come below the horizon for a split second.

It can almost look deliberate with how cool they play it. Peat at MSA last year, front wheel sliding down some rock face in the woods and it didn't even phase him. Barel glancing his Fox single crown off some random rock at worlds going retarded fast and he doesn't change his game at all. Hill at Italy in '08 made a lot of little sketchy errors in his race run just hammering through everything (besides the one where he crashed), but never let it cost him any speed. I guarantee you his rear wheel was not where he wanted to be for the whole run. Even if you watch a slow mo of him crashing, he's committed through the majority of the crash until his face is almost hitting the ground.

 

[5150dhbiker]

You are talking to yourself down the track, which to me means you are dwelling in things that have gone wrong.

Ya, most of that was moans from pain though. I have a really really bad shoulder that popps in and out pretty easily and is extremely painful.

Loving the responses though...got A LOT of new things to try as soon as I'm capable of riding DH again.

Oh, and yes I do replay the whole course in my head before the race run...especially the night before trying to fall asleep it's constantly going in my head.

In Angel Fire after the crash I realized I could not physically go fast because of the pain so just cruised and didn't care about my lines. Usually if I crash though, I get up quickly and keep my lines.

 

[gemini2k]

-I have a really really bad shoulder that popps in and out pretty easily and is extremely painful.
-as I'm capable of riding DH again.
-I could not physically go fast because of the pain

Maybe all these things are related? Take some time off, rehab the injuries. As you and I both know, shoulders can become very big problems quickly. You need a lot of upper back/shoulder strength to ride DH, and you're not gonna have that with a chronically dislocating shoulder. And that kind of chronic injury can severely affect your mental game. You seem to get hurt a lot riding moto and DH, these little injuries might be adding up? A little patience and hard work now will pay off handsomely later. Some of my best racing happened after I hadn't ridden for many months and was just lifting and working on upper body strength. (yes that's totally anecdotal and doesn't take into account the myriad of other obviously important factors)

 

[5150dhbiker]

Maybe all these things are related? Take some time off, rehab the injuries. As you and I both know, shoulders can become very big problems quickly. You need a lot of upper back/shoulder strength to ride DH, and you're not gonna have that with a chronically dislocating shoulder. And that kind of chronic injury can severely affect your mental game. You seem to get hurt a lot riding moto and DH, these little injuries might be adding up? A little patience and hard work now will pay off handsomely later. Some of my best racing happened after I hadn't ridden for many months and was just lifting and working on upper body strength. (yes that's totally anecdotal and doesn't take into account the myriad of other obviously important factors)

Yeah, I'm going to take a while off. These fractured ribs are insane and really really hurts!!!! I'm having a hard enough time working right now.

But ya, going to get straight up ripped before next season. Ok...maybe not ripped but better strength then this year. These injures are totally adding up and it's really taking it's toal.

 

[Bicyclist]

If you need a moto timer I have an extra one laying around - let me know and I'll bring it by Bicycle Bob's. Get me a burrito or something and it's yours.

/spam

 

[Kanye West]

Just called you - if Mike doesn't take it, I will. Consider the burrito yours.

 

[gemini2k]

Yeah, I'm going to take a while off. These fractured ribs are insane and really really hurts!!!! I'm having a hard enough time working right now.

But ya, going to get straight up ripped before next season. Ok...maybe not ripped but better strength then this year. These injures are totally adding up and it's really taking it's toal.

Broken ribs too? Geez. Ya man, take like 3 months off. Get a pass to the UCSB rec cenn (wonderful scenery while you sit on the stationary bikes). Lift for your shoulder/back and work on general conditioning. It'll work wonders.

 

[bizutch]

maybe not film yourself in a race run. This ain't Real World.

 

[karpi]

I havent really read any of the above posts, but Im sure someone has mentioned, if not here goes...

Whats works best for me is starting practice early on. Try n keep your mind off other racers and how they are doing. Remeber DH is and indivual sport, and many times we forget the only real indiviual we are racing against is our selves. Like they said practice like its a race, race likes its practice. It all comes down to the mind game, so, as soon as your have less things in your mind the better you'll do. Like you said, you though you didnt want to fall, and you fell. Your mind set should be more like, "lets go out and have fun, enjoy myself", cause thats what its all about.

Some other pointers would be, remember to take a deep breath before you start your final run, cool down, and take all distractions away from your mind. Remember to loosen those arms and legs up and flow in your run. What also works for me, is setting personal records and trying to "beat" yourself, versus taking on others, it works everytime.

Try doing some practice runs where your practice or work on specific sections, but by the end of the day, try to have the whole track worked out, ie. do at least two runs at almost full speed without stopping to get a feel for it, so you know where you can push it, and where to lay back. Try to get your gears figured out at this moment as well.

Last I would recomend trying to visualise the track in your mind. Its like when you want to hit a jump, you have to imagine yourself hitting it, I think this really helps to get the fear out of the way. F1 driveres do this regularly, due to the speeds they are going at, the have to have all their breaking points and manouvers dailed.

Well hope this helps, but remember, its about you, not everybody else.