You’ve put in the work over the winter – you’ve sweated for long hours on the trainer, dug deep through each and every threshold interval, and pushed yourself so hard in the gym that felt like your legs were going to explode. Now, months later, you’re stronger than ever, your FTP is at an all-time high, and your core and position on the bike are unshakable.
But, there’s one more thing you need to work on: mental confidence.
You’ve never been in this position before, one of the strongest guys on the group ride, one of the strongest girls in the race. You’re used to riding at the back, hanging on for dear-life, and tail-gunning like a pro. Now, all of a sudden, you’re at the front. You’re sitting in the Top 10 and…it’s not that hard. You feel comfortable, physically, but your mind is all over the place.
It’s like slow-dancing for the first time: What do I do? Where do I look? Where do I put my hands?!
Learning to ride (and slow-dance) with confidence is not something that can be taught simply through lecture or demonstration. As the old saying goes, ‘it’s always easier said than done.’ The local pro can describe riding at the front to you for hours – Just get to the Top 10 and stay there. Follow moves, save your energy, and then win the sprint at the end. Easy! – but it does nothing for you until you’re actually there. It takes weeks, months, and years of experience to learn how to ride at the front. And no, Zwift doesn’t count… I’m talking real-life experience.
Physical gains are concrete, they develop gradually over time, and they are the result of hard work, consistency, and dedication to bettering yourself as an athlete.
Mental gains are different – they can be made in a moment, or they can stagnate for years. They can leap forwards or backwards, depending on if you won the race or crashed out.
In the summer of 2017, I crashed twice in three days. They were both during crits, both freak accidents outside of my control, and they were both very bad; the second crash caused me to black out for a few seconds. And in that moment, I lost years of mental gains increasing my confidence in crits. During the following 12 months, I was terrified of crit racing. I couldn’t get to the front, every corner was a nightmare, and any squeal, crack, or yell triggered a string of hyper-sensitive emotions.
Over time, my confidence started coming back. But it didn’t – and doesn’t – happen overnight. It takes months and sometimes years of practice to build your confidence, but man is it worth it. A couple weeks ago, I was racing a crit when 25 minutes in, I realized I had been in the state of ‘flow‘. I was racing without realizing it, taking the corners and not even thinking about braking, and pumping my legs up and down on the pedals without even feeling the pain. It was almost like an out-of-body experience, and with a little bit of mental and physical practice, you can experience it too.
I’ve identified a number of important habits over the years that have helped me improve my mental confidence:
- Positive Self-talk: telling yourself ‘You can do this!’ The last thing I want to hear when I’m suffering hard and getting dropped is, ‘You suck. Find a different sport. Why are you even here?’ In these moments, I remind myself of all the hours that I’ve put in, on the bike and off, and how many people think it is crazy that I can ride 100 miles in a day. I am strong, fit, lean. I’ve put in the work, and I deserve to be here. I’m going to show everyone what I’m capable of!
- Reality Check: when I’m deep in the paincave and all I want to do is climb off my bike, I remind myself where I am, what I am doing, and how lucky I am. I’m riding my bike on some of the more beautiful roads in the country – Tennessee, Vermont, California, Wisconsin – I can smell the ocean, hear the birds chirping, and watch the bright green leaves blowing in the wind. Most people will never get this opportunity. I am grateful for where I am right now, and I am grateful that I have the health and fitness to be riding my bike for four hours in a day. My suffering is breathing hard up a climb; other people’s suffering is the inability to get out of bed. I’m not really suffering.
- Creating Checkpoints: whenever I’m racing up a climb, I pick a curve, a crest, or a sign just up the road, and ride as hard as I can to it. I can get there. Just to that curve. Almost there! Once I reach it, I pick out another one. And another one, and another one, until I reach the top… It’s a little mental trick, telling myself that the suffering is almost over. When you can see the finish line, it’s always easier. You can suffer just a little bit more because you know the end is near.
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Everyone is different, so while these strategies work well for some, they will do nothing for others. I encourage each of you to experiment with your own techniques. Next time you’re feeling tired or unmotivated, practice one of these mental strategies and see what it does to your performance, but more importantly, what is does for your mind.