- Pro mountain bikers try to think of everything
when it comes to beating the competition.
No stone is left unturned.
So I'm gonna let you into a few secrets
that us wiley ex-pros here at GMBN
used to use in our mountain bike careers, but wouldn't let
anyone else know about.
(hip-hop music)
Something pro downhillers and enduros do all the time
is look for sneaky little lines.
So, things like outside lines
nothing new here, of course
but, it's trying to keep them a secret.
You can see this one is pretty well worn in.
This is a really popular trail.
You can see where someone's gone up here
and it's become obvious that's an outside line
and it's gonna work really well
you're just going that much further out
you'll be able to go a lot faster round that corner.
But, this is to be used in race situations
and on your home trails.
Try and look for those sneaky little lines
maybe go six inches outside
maybe into the grass, make sure it's nice and smooth
then trying to keep it a secret
so don't use it all the time
sort of get it worn it then every will do it.
So, plenty of pros do this in race situations.
Just practice that line once or twice
and then they don't do it again
so no one else can see it.
The best pro racers and kom hunters
keep their lines secret.
(hip-hop music)
The riders who are really in tune
to how they're feeling and riding
know when to back it off and settle for a
slightly below par ride or race.
Racers like Schurter and Minnaar are almost always there.
They might not win every time
they know when the legs aren't there
or maybe they can't nail that technical section.
Maybe they try and make it up somewhere else
or just accept it.
It's all to easy just to send it
and blow up physically, or even crash,
and be much worse overall.
But for some of us, crashing is just a way of life.
(hip-hop music)
Mental strength. Many pro racers realize that this
is really important for elite performance
but it does come back to your leisure riders as well
confidence is key.
Many of the world's best downhill racers
and previous world champs
have actually been to sports psychologists
to try and help them tame the thoughts
and the discipline that relies so much
on confidence and feeling on the bike.
Steve Peat actually used a British Cycling doctor
to help him brush off the years of disappointment
and second places at the World Champs
to finally find his form and take that title
at the 2009 World Champs.
(upbeat music)
Psyching out the competition.
Now, this is all open to interpretation.
Maybe it doesn't happen.
But, there's plenty of pros
putting in their big training sessions
or gym sessions, all over their Instagram.
Is that showing their calves to the competition?
Or is it, check me out, doing all this training all the time
look at my muscles, look at how much fun this is
this doesn't even hurt.
Now, who knows?
But you better be doing it if you're
showing that stuff on your Instagram.
Personally, I used to like doing it under the radar.
Big days on the road bike or ticking off some
serious training sessions without anyone else knowing
and trying to think that I was one up on the competition.
So there's a few of my tips
but there's plenty of us washed up pros her at GMBN
so let's go to some of them for their tips.
- So some little pro tips back from when I was competing.
I used to make things super hard for myself.
So, primarily, I was like a dirt jump, slopestyle rider
so I'd go out and train on a downhill bike
or heavy sort of free-ride bike
and I'd be doing all my bar spins with big, heavy tires
so, to chuck a bar spin on a big, heavy
downhill style of tire would require twice the effort
as it would do on your jump bike.
Things like 360s and tailwhips and stuff.
You could do that on the heavier bike
then transfer it back to right tool for the job
and it'll make things 10 times easier.
You know, do a 360 on a downhill bike
and then do a 360 on your jump bike
and it would almost seen like no effort whatsoever
and it means if you have to three a downhill bike
you could get back on that jump bike
and things like 720s would become
the norm for the same effort
it's what you'd do on your downhill bike.
So, make things harder for yourself
and it becomes super easy
when you got the right tool for the job.
- Right, my secret tip when I was a pro
when I was competing in slopestyle events
I would do certain big tricks on different obstacles.
So, I would do a huge trick like a
backflip tailwhip on one jump
then I'd move it to another jump
and I would just put it everywhere
put all my big tricks, but not necessarily in one big run.
I'd be dotting them around thinking
people would be like whoa, he's gonna do that trick
on the big jump, or he's gonna do--
kind of psych them out, that what I do.
- That is a few secret pointers.
Make sure you do them, but don't tell anyone about it.
If you want to see how to train for enduro
and what I used to do, no secret anymore
I made a video about it, it's up there.
If you want to see me and Blake
racing at the Andes Pacifico
and me getting hurt as well
click down there for that one.
Thumbs up if you want to be a pro mountain biker
and hit that subscribe button.