HOW TO CONQUER CRITERIUMS LIKE… ED CLANCY

Ed Clancy’s aim to be the “best criterium rider I can be” [a race consisting of several laps of a closed circuit], while focusing on a final Olympic Games participation at Tokyo 2020, will send fear through his competitors. Clancy is one of the country’s most decorated track cyclists, with three Olympic gold and one bronze medal, plus five World Championships, and is prioritising road work to build endurance and fitness levels to help him on the track events. As coach Jacob Tipper highlights, it’s Clancy’s ability to plan precisely, corner smoothly, hold a line and push through a pack at pace that has made him a standout crit master.

GEAR SELECTION Clancy is notorious for his track-based ability of barely getting out of the saddle while racing. But this can only be done by thinking about your gears leading into corners, hairpins and technical sections, allowing you to spin out of them rather than needing to fight the bike in a big gear after the slower sections.

PERFECT POSITIONING Again thanks to his track craft Clancy’s positioning is flawless, rarely outside the top 10. This saves him so much energy through the race, with less gas spent braking and accelerating, than the guys further back have to expend.

CORNER TAKING On the most technical of sections Clancy glides through. You see him look through the corner, balance his weight, pick the perfect line and crucially keep his centre of mass low.

THANKS TO HIS TRACK CRAFT CLANCY’S POSITIONING IS FLAWLESS