Improving your mental resilience will increase your capacity to withstand turbo torture and A-road agony. Testing his limits year on year in Grand Tours has developed his mental endurance ahead of other events: "I am so relaxed going into a race, knowing anything else I try cannot be as hard." In road racing’s tactical environment, fortunes can change very rapidly, but Hansen urges: "Never give up, not in any situation" - as fate can turn in your favour equally fast. So just let it be, let time pass, and you will get through it." When faced with these situations, Hansen’s response is a form of Zen detachment: "I always have a saying that I repeat in my head: No matter what happens today, I will be in a hotel bed tonight. > Cycling Weekly is available on your Smart phone, tablet and desktop "The constant socialisation brings its own fatigue and takes its toll." Mental fatigue for Hansen manifests itself in "pure exhaustion and a loss of motivation at being at the races." "I’m very much an introvert," Hansen admits. It’s not only the riding being off the bike presents its own struggles. Being on the bike for around five hours a day is not easy. There can be times when you experience a week, or two weeks, of just cold rain. "The races get tough, and more so with bad weather. Across 70,000 Grand Tour kilometres, the 38-year-old has demonstrated grit like few other pros. "If competitions were won purely by being the most physically prepared," adds Carmichael, "we could test athletes in the lab and hand out the medals without ever holding the race."Īs a rider who has undertaken 20 consecutive Grand Tours, the Australian Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) has an insight into the importance of mental resilience. Physical preparation gets you to the start line, but it is mental adaptability that gives you the potential to perform to the best of your ability. It’s easy enough when everything is going well, but when unpredicted things happen and events turn in an unwelcome direction, riders need to be prepared with a strong set of contingency plans to come out the other side victorious, or least hardened. Now, as founder and head coach of Carmichael Training Systems (CTS), Carmichael examines the mind as well as the body: "Our job as coaches is to help athletes fill their mental and physical toolbox with skills, fitness and knowledge so they can make winning decisions under pressure." Chris Carmichael, an ex-professional rider who was part of the first American team (7-Eleven) to race the Tour de France, back in 1986, says: "There were a lot of talented athletes from my era who stopped short of their potential because of psychological challenges that could be addressed if they were athletes today." Being mentally resilient enables you to respond to setbacks with a more positive approach. It’s not just your ability to push harder and be more tactically aware that stands to be improved.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |