By Luke Seemann

This is an important tip considering all the fast, technical crits coming up. Cat 4’s and 5’s, bookmark this page and review it the night before Downers Grove.

As we corner, our bikes will lean into the turn. The faster we go, the more we lean. Thus it’s important to to keep your inside pedal up, with your weight firm on the outside pedal, lest your inside pedal strike the ground as you lean. The faster you go, the more important this is. At best, a pedal strike will give you the scare of your life. At worst, it will cause a catastrophic crash. As you preview the course, be thinking about which corners you can safely pedal through. Keep in mind, however, that on the last lap or two of a criterium, everything will be 10 to 20 percent faster. You might be able to pedal through a given corner at 25 mph, but at 28 mph on the same corner you’ll be sent flying over a fire hydrant.