Video: Can You Get Faster In A Week?

Jun 2, 2021
by Pinkbike Originals  


If you had one week and a professional racer as your coach do you think you could get faster? Well, Jo Peters is about to find out. You may remember Jo from Season 1 of Pinkbike Academy where she had just one day to get faster to try and beat our own Christina Chappetta. This time, she has more days and more coaching.





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95 Comments
  • 93 0
 Faster in a week
Av no got faster in 10 years so it’s a naw for me
  • 8 0
 Same here Bro, nothing to run after, except pleasure and a big grin on my face each time I survive to what I've done Smile
  • 17 24
flag DoubleCrownAddict (Jun 2, 2021 at 12:40) (Below Threshold)
 I got faster after I had a covid vaccine cocktail of Phizer and Moderna. I think the key is to take lots of vitamins before the shots, and I also took organic noni powder grown in Hawaii.

This formula produced 2 kom's on Strava, with no additional training and on an e bike, no less.

I can't wait to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next time. This should be motivation for anybody who has hesitancy about the vaccine to go ahead and get it. It can really be a performance booster, it was for me at least.
  • 15 0
 @DoubleCrownAddict: only works if you ride an e-bike though the 5G interferes with your bikes speed governor
  • 6 2
 @DoubleCrownAddict: pretty sure waki died and came back as you.
  • 2 1
 @makripper: if you look at his last posts you can see he was actually insulting me before he took a combination of psychedelics and polish vodka and went a little crazy and deleted his account. I'm not of the anti-Waki, and I actually ride bikes alot and am a decent rider. He rarely rode and had the bike skills of your grandma.
  • 53 2
 Wait a minute, I thought jumping 20 foot gaps right when you start biking is how you get good?
  • 18 0
 Haha back when i started that was the general consensus … also everyone had freeride bikes
  • 24 0
 Only if it's on a hard tail. That's the only way to learn, right? Loading dock and roof drops to flat too, of course.
  • 2 0
 Good? Yes. Fit? Meh....
  • 5 0
 @kcy4130: You had me at hardtail loading dock drops!
  • 15 12
 @kcy4130: I grew up on a Rocky Mountain Soul hardtail with brand new Bombers. I rode that hardtail in DH, XC and Dual Slalom and when I wanted to do trials I removed the seat entirely. I'd beat kids with full suspension Giant ATX DH rigs all because I learned to read how to flow through a course and not fight it. I'll never forget the day the frame broke all because a lady was turning right and cut in front of me. The whole bike went under the van in one motion and was mangled to crap. I was so upset and hopped up on adrenaline I put my fist through her rear windshield.
  • 13 0
 Yes it is! See you Friday!
  • 2 0
 @kcy4130: Well, I saw Kyle Warner hit a super techy double drop at Table Rock in Boise on a hardtail, so it's possible lol.
  • 1 1
 @Stokedonthis: you mean Enduro bikes?
  • 28 0
 I sent my 16 year old to a Mtb camp in Whistler, he was coached by Dylan Forbes, Mikayla Gatto and Brett Tippie. I was stunned by how fast he was after the camp, I would say about a 25% increase in speed.
  • 8 0
 That's some camp staff!
  • 3 0
 How much that set ya back? Geeze.
  • 8 0
 @KK11: It was Camp of Champions, it's not around anymore, but not too bad all things accounted for. You got 5 days coaching and riding, lift tickets, meals and accommodation for $1600.00 Canadian, if you bring your own bike
  • 3 0
 @Bomadics: not bad considering just meals and accomodations in whistler for 5 days runs about the same
  • 20 0
 So a week later Jo made a mistake, remove the mistake and she was really close. There was a right hander where Jo appears to struggle for exit speed too. Wouldn't take much before she was on the same time.
  • 21 0
 Yep, without the bobble she probably would've closed the gap, but that's racing!
  • 6 0
 @jasonlucas:
The big take away from this for Jo should be that she found some speed and confidence in a week with some good tips, commitment, better line choice. Some more experience of saving the bobbles and she would have closed most of that gap, thats another lesson I guess for another video.

It was a great view, just shows how much is made and lost on small sections and not the whole track, which is just like racing.

Race 72 coming up for me, having not raced since 2019 due to COVID it might feel like my first race come race weekend!
  • 7 0
 yep. she 100% improved overall.
  • 3 0
 Well done Jo, and Christina ChYEWpetta
  • 24 2
 Just buy an eBike. Seems like that’s what most people are doing these days. :’(
  • 21 0
 The funniest part of this is how you assume anyone can get ahold of a new bike in a week.
  • 1 19
flag Matt115lamb (Jun 2, 2021 at 9:35) (Below Threshold)
 Worked for me bud , no looking back ( going too fast ) Big Grin
  • 1 1
 @DoubleCrownAddict: errr ebikes are slower on the downhill generally. Heavier and harder to move around.
  • 11 0
 It would be great to time both ladies down another trail to see how much of the improvement was from learning new tips and techniques and how much from getting more familiar with the the same trail. The real skill in enduro is to be able to go fast down trails you don’t really know
  • 11 0
 Well, I coudn't get much slower so ...
  • 10 1
 If you ride the same trail for a week you're gonna get better at that trail without a pro's help. Crucial experimental controls, please
  • 3 0
 You're half right. Working on those tips helped her fix some bad habits. Many folks would ride all week and not change their ride.
  • 9 1
 Where is the video coverage of Formation? We got more coverage of Whistler's opening day than a week of bad ass women building / riding.
  • 11 0
 Hopefully Red Bull will be releasing a video soon!
  • 5 0
 The answer is YES, but you have to have time to practice! Practice is what makes you better. Those of us that work full time and don't live that close to our trails have a very hard time being able to practice (ride) often.
  • 3 0
 For a while I was able to ride almost as much as I wanted. Didn’t get much faster though.

I did get faster when I found myself with limited time and trail access. That left me doing driveway skill drills (flat corners, bunny hops, track stands) at random occasions when there was 10 minutes to spare.

So I agree that practice makes you better. But practice doesn’t require a bunch of spare time and out-the-door trail access.
  • 4 0
 Considering I ride by myself 99% of the time, and that the only “coaching” I’ve had is being mindful of technique and body position, and trying to apply what I know from the BMX track to the trails I would say it’s a very good chance a week working with a pro would make me faster.
  • 5 0
 "Don't take it seriously. Enduro is just about riding bikes with your buds."

Yea... tell that to me again when I'm at the start gate and my heart rate is maxxed out in anticipation Big Grin
  • 8 0
 You can get faster in one ride. Just hit your brakes less
  • 1 0
 Better, go brakeless...
  • 3 0
 I've found people learn mt bike 2 ways: 1. Being informed of correct technique 2. Practicing said technique. #1 can yield immediate results that can be transformative, but it's a big IF on if the rider picks up on it, or if the instructor sees it and corrects. #2 is a requirement to perfect many techniques or retrain the brain out of years of doing things wrong. You can certainly make some progress in a week, but I see #2 as a longer term activity, like practicing free throws in basketball.
  • 2 0
 Absolutely. I rode a 7hr day of basically non-stop DH park riding for the first time the other weekend. Had an experienced friend tow me through some of my slower sections too. Since then, my trail riding has gotten noticeably better and more confident and its amazing to see the improvement.
  • 6 0
 I'd be faster if there weren't so many damn people in the way.
  • 2 0
 Ride earlier in the morning.
  • 13 0
 @funkendrenchman: Then you have to eat all the spiderwebs
  • 2 0
 @Peally: lol this is very relatable
  • 7 0
 @Peally: my wife wonders why I’m never hungry for breakfast after my morning rides.
  • 4 0
 Sometimes things just click. I've had breakthroughs and gotten faster in a single day. So a week? Sure. It just has to be the right week.
  • 5 1
 From experience, go ride Whistler for a week. You'll get more skills and confidence in that 7 days than you would anywhere else within a couple months. Promise Wink
  • 1 0
 There is a lot of truth in this -- my biggest takeaway from Whistler was learning to trust my bike even more. My first rides back in the Seattle area after my first short trip to Whistler, I was way more confident and trusting of both my bike and my skill. It was like a mental unlock for me after running laps on a true DH bike.

I felt like my skill level was somewhat stagnating last summer - so I took a course with FluidRide, and that helped a ton as well.

But really, the key is just riding more and more and more and more Smile
  • 2 0
 It's very dependent on age and current skill level. IE beginners (with MTB inclination) will see the most gains, and I think from a neurological perspective, young people will learn new techniques faster–which will enable them to ride faster.

New equipment helps too. I increased my speed considerably moving from a 2002 26" to a 2020 Optic.
  • 2 0
 A couple of years ago when Pink Bike ran the 30 day Return to Earth challenge I participated and I was surprised how much I improved over the 30 days. I wasn't all just fitness, technically I was made gains too.
  • 2 0
 Anyone with even a bit of solo intentional practice can get faster. I guess the hard part is knowing where the weaknesses are in your technique. Pops always said "don't play with hackers unless you wanna be a hacker".
  • 4 0
 i dont want to get faster, i want more fun.

Can you get more fun in a week? Big Grin
  • 2 1
 Faster IS funnier!
  • 1 0
 I love this kind of video, looking to improve an already-good rider! I can relate to this experience, even though I'm not as good as Jo. I find that as I'm improving some aspects of my riding I uncover the next problem to work on. For example, maybe I finally take a double and it means I'm hitting the next corner much faster and end up panic-braking, hence losing any speed I may have gained in the first place!
  • 1 0
 I just finished up a 3 day camp at Highand where I was in a small group with a professional rider as a coach. I can say 100% I got faster and much more confident on the bike. That’s only 3 days, a full week would be amazing. The repetition really gives you a chance to hone in on all the small errors.
  • 1 0
 Is it just me or is one of the more obvious differences how much further back Jo has her weight on the bike compared to Christina (head mostly behind the bars vs over them and how much more of Jo’s top tube is visible in the chest cam shots.) ‍♂️? Particularly over that root garden and cornering. Interested this didn’t get mentioned.
  • 1 0
 Hah! That male symbol started as a shrug emoji :-)
  • 2 0
 Absolutely - after 1 week in the Alps I improve massively, give me a week in the Alps with a pro there is no way you wouldn't improve.
  • 1 0
 You can definitely get faster in a week. What you lack in strength and endurance you can make up in energy conservation and flow. There are a lot of small things that you can learn in a week that can make you faster.
  • 4 0
 I can get fatter in a week
  • 3 0
 Short answer: yes, but maybe
  • 3 0
 Starting where I'm at fitness-wise? Laughably easy....
  • 4 2
 Why do mtbrs always think they need to go faster..what's the rush..slow down and enjoy the scenery
  • 2 0
 Lol
  • 1 0
 We're all different people, and it's hard for me to even understand what you mean by that comment.
  • 1 0
 Flat pedals and the Ryan Leech flat pedal challenge made me a little faster. I felt a little faster but a friend I ride with not that often said something. So I'm a believer.
  • 4 6
 Short cuts to going faster lead to getting injured, best way to slow you down?
Yes getting shown that your doing wrong helps, but so does riding more!
Yes is fun to win races, but racing is not that fun if you are a loser?
No matter how good you think you are, you will never be as fast as you want to be, as always want to get better!
So why go fast
  • 3 0
 Circular reasoning.
  • 5 0
 Riding more also increases your chances of injury. Saying racing is only fun if you win just makes you sound like you have never lined up for a race.
  • 1 0
 @RonSauce: Funny enough raced at 2 World championships?
  • 1 0
 @aljoburr: and had zero fun in the process?
  • 1 0
 @RonSauce: Does take take fun out of it spending loads of money racing to get to that level & cant get sponsorship to continue racing at that level, but that was back in the 90s, now racing is even more competitive now, so pushing your self to try and win, is masochistic which is not my idea of fun!
Not that is not some fun, but when only good enough to get in top 50 at World cups what are you proving?
  • 1 0
 @aljoburr: you can prove you aren't a sore loser, or use your race experience as a humble brag.
If you think the only reason to compete is to win i feel bad for your perspective on life in general.
  • 2 0
 I need to be single with no kids and boom I could be PRO.
  • 1 0
 I spent a 4 hour class with an instructor and got faster, I have to think after a full week would be great.
  • 2 0
 new group of non cautious riders to ride with would help as well.
  • 2 0
 You can buy faster at your local bike shop, 30 minutes, tops.
  • 1 0
 @imbiker - plus the 3-9 months backlog on whatever you're buying...
  • 1 0
 @g-42: In some places yes, bike shops in near me have some in stock, very few, but bikes are slowly arriving.
  • 1 0
 Ride park for at least 3/7 days in a week and you'll become much faster.
  • 1 0
 I’m faster after coffe and toast, dont need whole week.
  • 1 1
 Improvements would be better with a professional coach rather than a pro racer coaching
  • 4 0
 Maybe not in this case, as Jo is a professional mountainbike coach. Think the approach of racer is just a bit different
  • 1 0
 hey young kids, secret to speed is two words: meta mucil
  • 1 1
 Bike fit! Why such big bars??? It totally throw's the rider's weight off! Fashion over function
  • 1 0
 after a week of riding the same trail i would expect to be faster down it
  • 1 1
 You'd bloody well hope so.
  • 1 1
 what!! run faster? maybe you're ruining your bike
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