Over the course of more than two decades of professional racing, 34-year-old Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski has found success in most every endurance discipline. He’s won national titles in XC, short track, and marathon, but for 2013 JHK has changed his focus to the growing Enduro scene. The change of genres doesn’t mean that the Boulder, Colorado, resident has lost a step on the climbs—he’s all-around fast, no matter how you slice it. We caught up with JHK this spring to get his advice on clearing tricky uphill sections—large roots, rocks, ledges and other abrupt vertical obstacles—that you don’t just roll over, but need to get onto before you can continue on your climb. Here’s what he had to say.

Stay in control. Mastery of technical climbing starts with two things: Gearing and effort. To control your bike up and onto an obstacle and still be able to continue on your way afterward, you need to have a little something left in reserve—red-lining your effort will leave you gasping when you should be gassing it. And gearing? “I would err on the side of a harder gear,” JHK says, “so that you can push up and over with good momentum.” In other words, a harder gear will give you something to push against to get your bike up and over, instead of spinning out.

Time your stroke. “It's key to pedal up and onto the obstacle,” JHK says, “but crucial that you time your pedaling so that you don't smash your pedal on the downstroke.” This takes practice. You need to learn to ratchet your pedals for last-minute corrections, if needed, but also train yourself to look far-enough ahead to see the obstacle and even out your pedal stroke before you reach it. “You need to anticipate this,” JHK explains, “so you’ll be setting up [your pedal stroke] well before you actually get to the move.”

Lift and lunge. This is the crux move. “As your front wheel nears the obstacle, pedal just hard enough to loft the front wheel onto it, but smooth enough to maintain rear-wheel traction,” says JHK. Once the front wheel is up, lean forward (if you’ve been climbing in the saddle, you should be out of it at this point), and push the handlebar forward as you pull the rear wheel up with your feet just as it touches the front edge of the obstacle.

See it through! What makes most riders falter? It’s not lack of ability—it’s lack of commitment. “The biggest mistake is to bail out and unclip at the first sign of momentum loss,” JHK says. “Stick with it—lean in and keep pedaling while striving to maintain balance, and you'll make it!”