http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13602&start=25

When encountering a gust of air, the pilot, instead of fighting to stay level, instantaneously banks to expose his sailplane’s broadest surfaces to the wind and gain a push. Taras Kiceniuk explains it this way: If a sailplane is hit by a sideways gust, the pilot will immediately bank away from the gust, expose the belly and the bottom of the wings to it, and pull a couple of Gs. As the pilot finishes the maneuver and the sailplane’s tail slips parallel to the wind, the downwash from the wings slows the gust, thus reducing the gust’s energy while transferring that energy to the sailplane in the form of higher speed.

http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/lift.html