CONFIDENCE TRICKS

I went to a skills coach and this is what I learnt...

THE STUDENT BEN SMITH

I’ve been riding mountain bikes for nearly 30 years but until recently I’d never had any form of coaching. However, after a six-month lay-off caused by a crash and the resultant knee injury, my confidence was shot and my riding was really suffering. A torn ACL and damaged meniscus was the result of coming up very short on a jump I should have steered well clear of, and once I’d been given the all-clear to ride again by my knee surgeon, my brain just wouldn’t let me ride over obstacles and through technical sections that I wouldn’t even have noticed beforehand – the thought of damaging the knee again was always at the forefront of my mind.

THE COACH: KATY CURD

Katy knows a thing or two about technique, she’s a former 4X national champ, a pro downhill rider and now she runs Katy Curd Coaching in the Forest of Dean.

1 BACK TO BASICS

At the beginning of our session, Katy took me to a gently flowing section of trail with a few flat corners in order to assess my riding. It was clear that I was standing too tall and too stiff on the bike – I felt like the bike was in charge rather than me. Katy got me to bend my elbows and knees more to get lower on the bike in order to have more room to manoeuvre and time to react.