Turning a bicyle can be scary – especially if you’re trying to maximise speed at the same time. But with proper technique, you can go faster and tilt your bike farther than you think is possible. Alex Stieda, the first North american to wear the yellow jersey, claims he once leaned so far his glove got a burn mark from rubbing against the top of someone’s rear wheel.  Here’s what he has to say about changing directions :
« As a pro cylclist, i worked to improve my cornering skills. During a stage of the Tour of Britain, i remmebered threre was a turn 400 meters before the line. I attacked early, railed the corner and opened a gap. I raise my arms in vitctory at the finish, only to be told that this gesture was against the rules. I was relegated at last in the break, but relished the fact that my strategy had worked.
Once you feel the power and control of a properly carved trun, there is nothing better. It takes practise, so be patient.  Find an empty parking lot and mark off a corner with water bottles or cones. Here are some techniques that helped me. »

1 Mind the terrain

Look for and avoid sand, rocks or cracks that could cause you to slip. After you know what the riding conditions are in a particular corner, you can slowly increase you speed each time.

2 . Apply pressure

Do all your braking before the trun. Weight distribution is critical ; To keep from sliding out, weight the front wheel by putting your hands in the drops of the handlebar with your elbows bent. Next, exert pressure with your outside hand and foot, creating angulation like you would in a ski turn. Don’t try to pedal in a corner.

3. Lean the marchine

Release thebrakes and start the turn by leaning the bike – not your body- into the turn. This can be accomplished by pushing lightly with you inside hand; some call this counter-steering. If the turn is tight of your speed increases, lean the bike farther in, and vice versa;

4. Aim for the inside

Carve a sooth arc through the apex of the turn : start at teh outside corner, near the center line. Aim toward the inside of the turn, then exit as far to the outide as possible. Do not cross the double yellow line.

5. Keep looking…

in the direction you want to go. This will help you maitain a smooth line.

6. Make your exit

As you come out of the turn, gradually straighten the bike until it’s upright, the start to pedal again.

7. Mind the rain

Painted linele covers and oily pavement become slippery in wet conditions. Wet roads exaggerate everything you do : braking while the bike is leaning will cause you to skid more easil, and sudden turning can make your wheels slip. So slow down.

Start with a neutral position ; hands in the arc of the drops (not on the flat ends) with index and middle fingers on the brake levers, and butt slightly reaward on the saddle

To go faster

Dro your head lower and farther forward, and draw your knees and elbows in.

To increase stability

Shift your weight back, raise your chest, and pedal or, if coasting, bring your tighs in against the top tube.

Tuck and coast chen pedaling no longer benefits you

According to Bicycling’s calculations, that’s about 25mph on 5 % grade, or 40mph on a 10% grade, for a 155 pound

To slow down

Shift your weight rearward as you apply noth brakes, gradually squeezing the left lever harder to engage more front brake, which supplies most of our stopping power.

It’s fine to sit while descending, but if you hit a rought strecht of pavement or a patch of gravel

Lift your butt off the saddle. « If your’re sitting, you’re reacting to what happens – you’re on defense » says 2001 world mountain bike champion Alison Dunlap. « But you want to be on offense ».

To go dangerously fast

Pros used to drop their butts so far off the back that tehir chests lay atop the saddle. Now the technique is to move so fa forward taht your chest rests atop the handlebar, and your head acts as a wedge to part the air. Keeping your hands in the drops give you a slight chance of being able to brake, but to do the full tuck, put your hands atop the flats, under your chest. This is ridiculously unstable, ill-advised – and fast.

Any time you need greater control  of your bike. With your hads in the drops of the handlebar, you put more weight on your front wheel, which stabilizes the bike and increases your braking power. On long descents, move your hands down before your speed rises above your comfort level. For some new cyclists, riding in the drops can cause hand, neck and shoulder discomfort. Correct handlebar selection and brake-lever adjustment and proper bike fit should allow most people to comfortably ride in this position

Your bike’s gears are designed to help you keep a consitent cadence, allowing you to pedal at maximum efficiency. Riding conditions such as wind resistance, terrain and groups dynamics are contantly changing, and you should adjust your gera ratio accordingly. A cadence meter provide a steady gauge of how fast you’re pedaling.

You should anticipate conditions that will affect your effort level so you can shift before you actually need a smaller or bigger gear. Changing gears when ther is less pressure on the pedals allows for a much smoother shift and less wear on your drive train, especially when you’re shifting the front derailleur.

Here is the route of the Tour de France 2012 as it has been published on the offcial website of the Tour de France.

It seems that the route of the « Tour de France 2012″ was online yesterday by mistake !!

Here is a copy of what we can find in the french press today. It was supposed to be revealed in a few days only (18 October 2011)

They will start from Liege and stay in Belgium for 3 days.

Only 4 days in the mountain for this edition but do no worry, they will be cycling around Argelès Gazost.

Every climb contains one fundamental element: effort. But there are oher ingredients that can make or break a succesful ascent. Here are six essentials that Andy Appelgate, climbing specialist and coach with Carmichael Training Systems, swears by. They ‘ll help you reach the top faster, easier and with less pain.

Pace yourself
If you go above thershold too soon, you’ll blown up and slow down begfore you reach the top. Keep your breathing deep and confortable and your heart rate below threshold at the start of the climbs. As you fall into a ryhtm, gradually increase your effort until your ‘re climbing at threshod. The final 200 meters is the perfect place to take it into the max and attack. If you start smart, you’ll have the energ to finish strong.

Sit- Most of the time
Unless you’re a 120 pound Spanish climbing spcialist, your rear end should be planted on your saddle for most of the climb. You use about 5 percent more energy when you stand during a climb than whent you sit. Shift you weight back slightly fo maximum leverage on the pedals. Stand only when you body needs a break from th seated postion or when you have to jump and accelerate to attack or chase. When you stand, keep ou butt back so the nose of your saddle brushes the backs of your thighs and your weight is over the crank. Shifting your weight tooo far forward will causeyou to overweight h front tire and lose raction in the back.

Loosen you upper body
Your entire upper body should ne relaxed so you don’t waste energy. A good marker for those torso is slightly flared elbows.  » Your’ elbows should be outside your knuckes », says Applegate. « This allows you to remain relaxed. If yor elbows are in, your lats are streched tight, which can restrict breathing. »

Use the Right Gearing Don’t be afraid to use your easiest gear. « Riders want to use their big gears, but the goal is to gear down and keep the cadence in a comfortable range, » says Applegate. Try to keep your cadence above 70 rpm.

Increase Your Power-to-Weight Ratio The number of watts you can crank out per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight is the key to climbing success. The Alberto Contadors in the crowd are known to produce an amazing 6 to 7 watts per kg. « If you can hit 5, that’s awesome, » says Applegate. Through high-intensity training, you can raise your wattage by 5 to 7 percent over the course of a season. One surefire strategy: Climb for 10 to 30 minutes at or near lactate threshold heart rate (about an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale of perceived exertion) twice a week. If you want to improve your ratio, work at lowering the weight part of the equation.

Breathe Deeply « Riders often use just the top half of their lungs, taking shallow, jagged breaths as they climb, » says Applegate. This limits how quickly and efficiently you can get fresh oxygen to your working muscles. « Practice breathing deep into your belly, filling your lungs entirely, » he says. As a bonus, deep breaths help keep you calm under the stress of the climb.

This article is an extract from : « The Big book of Bicycling » Emily Furia

To make sure the rubber meets the road, chosse the tire that best fits the conditions in which you’ll be riding.

Rain riding

The points of contract on rain tires have two purposes. They break the surface plane of the water so that the tire can make contact owith the road, ant they enhance the grip of the tire once it doaes. To accomplish this, good rain tiers are tipically outfitted with a diamond or file tread pattern.  Rain tires also use soft compounds that grip the road better but wear out faster. In wet conditions, run your tires 5-10 psi lower than normal, which increases the contact patch – the surface area of the tire touching the road.

Racing

In the tire casing, a high number od threads per inch leads to a supple and controlled road fell. When you roll accross uneven pavement, supple tires absorb impact and maintain grip with the road, minimizing vibration and maximizong control. The high-tpi casings are teamed wiht flexible belts to addd some measure of durability, but the downside to all lighht, suple racing tires is that they cost the most  and wear out the fastest.

Rough Roads

Rubber is the heaviest substance in tires (there are also threads and layers of nylon, cotton, silk, Kevlar and other substances), ans it’s also resistant to punctures. So adding rubber to low-tpi tires to fill in the spaces between threads results in an inexpensive, flat-resistant tire. For further protection, durable, nearly bulletproof belts are sometimes laid over the casing. The downside of these sturdy belts is that they detract from rollong efficiency and road feel.

Winter training

A hybrid of flat-resistant and rain tires, off-season tires are made with tread compounds that maximize the sruface area of the contact patch and maintain grip. Because the road is typically more cluttered with debris, the threads are also tougher to guard against cuts, making the stiffer and slightly less grippy than rain tires. A good way to counteract the loss of traction is to increase surface area: if you ride 21 or 23c, swithc to 25c to gain mo control in turns