You reach the top of the climb, stop for a moment, look at the trail... and set off again immediately.
That's what almost everyone does.
And it's also the reason why the first part of the descent is often stiff, not very fluid, almost "dirty".
The problem is simple: your body is still in climb mode.
From the ascent to the descent: the passage that changes everything
During the ascent, the body organizes itself to push. It's an effective, but very specific, position:
- the pelvis tends to become blocked
- the back stiffens
- the upper body stabilizes to transfer force to the pedals
If you're an amateur cyclist—and therefore perhaps don't have advanced physical preparation—this effect is even more evident.
As the minutes pass, fatigue also comes into play:
- you start to pull more with your arms
- the shoulders are loaded
- the lumbar region may become stiff or cause discomfort
It's a normal response of the body: when the legs begin to tire, they seek stability by "holding on" to the upper part.
Muscles like trapezius and latissimus dorsi work harder to hold everything still, but the result is that the pelvis loses freedom of movement.
The problem: you arrive downhill already stiff
If you start the descent in these conditions, you take everything with you:
- less capacity to absorb the soil
- arms that tire quickly
- less fluid and more jerky driving
It's that typical feeling where the bike seems to bounce more than it should and you struggle to stay smooth.
And it's not a technical problem.
It's a question of how you got there.
The type of muscular work also changes
Going uphill, the job is simple: push.
A continuous contraction, always in the same direction.
Going downhill, everything changes.
You have to:
- absorb
- to react
- to adapt yourself
Here the eccentric and reactive component of strength comes into play much more, which I talk about in this article
If the body is still “set” to push, it will struggle to adapt to this new type of work.
Activating the pelvis: the first step to change
The first thing to do is restore mobility to the pelvis, separating it from the upper body.
Simple movements are enough:
- rotations of the pelvis with the shoulders still
- anteroversion and retroversion
- small oscillatory movements
The goal is not to do perfect exercises, but reactivate control and sensitivity.
It's like telling the body: "Now the movement no longer starts from the shoulders, but from here."
When you do it well, you immediately feel the position change and the body unlock.
Reactivate elasticity and reactivity
After mobilizing, it is necessary to rekindle a minimum of reactivity.
It only takes a few seconds here:
- small leaps
- light skips
It's not training.
It's a quick reminder to tell the body that it needs to react now, not just push.
This helps a lot in managing:
- compressions
- changes of pace
- uneven terrain
Visualizing the descent: prepare your head too
Then there is a step that many skip, but which makes a big difference: the visualization.
Before you set off, take a few seconds to imagine how you want to drive.
Not the detail of the trail, but the feeling:
- a smooth ride
- teacher
- without sudden movements
- without unnecessary noise
It's like creating a mental direction that the body tends to follow.
A very effective image is that of a "silent" descent, where the bike glides smoothly without any sudden jolts. Once you embrace this mindset, even the way you use your brakes and body automatically changes.
It really only takes two minutes
There is no need to do more.
- catch your breath
- mobilize the pelvis
- reactivate the body
- you see the descent
In less than two minutes you are in a completely different mode.
In short (Italian only)
It's not the descent itself that's difficult.
It's how you get there.
If you arrive tired and stiff, you will drive the same way.
If you arrive active and fluid, everything changes.
And often, the difference lies in those two minutes that almost everyone skips.
