March 2026

Riding cues #2

05/03/26 20:26 Filed in: Riding

One that I have a hard time convincing racers to believe is that the best time to attack in a race is when you are hurting the most. Unless you are an amateur in the middle of a pro peloton, the people around you in a race are of similar ability to you. If you're hurting, they're hurting. A convincing attack at that point can be ultra-demoralising. Make them believe you have more than they do!

But, sometimes, all you need is that little edge and you've taken the win. I've never understood trying for a podium when a different strategy could return the win. First or last is my approach. And it has been last a lot of times when my strategy backfired. But sometimes it doesn't. And those days are glorious, even if you only beat your mates.

Riding cues #1

02/03/26 16:37 Filed in: Riding

As a coach I like to use cues for my riders to help them remember what they are meant to be doing in particular situations. One is "scraping mud off the sole of your shoe" when climbing seated. That image of mud removal helps people to get a long and powerful stroke. Sometimes these things get ingrained so permanently that the rider need never think of them again. For me, after 40 years of racing and riding, there are many I don't give a second thought to.

But there is one that I have to revisit regularly. I have this tendency to let the mountain bike accelerate under me in corners so I end up with my weight too far back. You really can't do much from the back "seat" (like in a car, it's hard to reach the controls). I've used different cues over the years depending on what worked for me on the day. I recently spent a week on my MTB and on day 1 I was doing this again. My cue this time was assisted by a photo of Jackson Goldstone on one of the chairlift poles advertising the Fox Rampage RS. In fact, I see he's the home page photo of the new helmet. In the picture, he has his outside (left) elbow bent and held high. That has never been my style, but for this week I emulated Jackie and realised you absolutely cannot hold the elbow up high and also have the weight back.

Perfect.

Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

Riding cues #2

Riding cues #1