ATV Riding Techniques: Whoops

Intimidating? Yes. Achievable? Yes.

Racing season is again in full swing and, aside from perhaps the secret art of big jumps, nothing seems to intimidate riders like a long, nasty whoop section.

We get it – they’re always so much bigger than they look on TV or in photos and approaching them wrong can be an instant trip over the handlebars. So what’s the secret to being able to punch through them like the pros? Let’s break it down step by step.

1) Line Up

You want to enter the whoop section as perpendicular to the first mound of dirt as possible. In other words, don’t wait until you’re already skipping through to try and make course corrections. Pick your line when you come out of the corner before the whoops, straighten out there and charge in on the line you plan to keep until you’re all the way through.

2) Speed Up

Instinct tells us to slow down as that row of mounds and gullies comes into focus but slowing down is the sure fire way to get pushed up and pulled down over each hump. What you want to do is skim the tops of the mounds and to do this, you need momentum to carry you on through. If you are in a gear with a lot of room to rev prior to entering the whoop section, pin it. If you’re revving out prior to entering, upshift.

3) Wheelie

You can set the cadence of the whole section with placement of your front wheels on the first hump. What you want to avoid is slamming into the face of the first whoop, which will suck up your suspension travel, then bounce you over the middle of the mound so that you can slam into the face of the next one etc. Instead get back, pull up and do a slight wheelie upon entry so that your front wheels just start to set down on the very top of the first whoop.

4) Stay Loose

Now that your straightened out, your speed is building and you’re setting the front wheels atop the first whoop, it’s just a matter of staying on the gas and letting the quad move around beneath you. Relax your grip on the bars, keep your elbows out and make sure you’re standing on the balls of your feet.

Remember – if the rear end of the quad feels like it’s trying to push you over the bars while skipping across the whoops, slow your rear shock’s rebound until the machine flies level.