Winning means preparing yourself to be the Winner, not simply to “Do Your Best”
Winning an event is the ultimate result but it often depends as much on the opposition as it does on you. Since there is nothing you can do about how your competitors ride the only approach left is to concentrate on yourself and the things you can control during your preparation.
People often under-perform because of a lack of thorough preparation. They have plenty of talent but will have peak fitness at the wrong time or be injured or tired and unable to deliver when the big day comes along. And it is often the case that even when they get it right physically they fall short because they did not prepared themselves mentally and physically to be the a “winner” but merely to ‘do my best’. This attitude can sometimes produce a good result but not very often. It often seems that at bigger events the top results will go the athletes who have prepared well and expect to win. This involves mental as well as physical preparation. Here are the 10 key areas to focus on in your preparation.
1. Plan Ahead: When planning your training, work backward from the dates of the big races, like a points series or championship.. This will help you balance your training and keep the long-term plan in focus. This planning should extend over at least six months but preferably over a full year.
2. Periodization: Once the important events have been put on the calendar you can decide how many peak competitive periods you can have in the year. Each peak will require a build-up phase, a pre-competition tune up phase and a tapering phase. Nobody can remain at peak competitive level for very long. If it is necessary to maintain form for more than 3-4 weeks then there must be some planned recuperation after.
3. Progression: Within the structure of each training phase there must be a plan for progressive training of each critical component. In the build-up phase, this will be both in the overall volume of training as well as the specific workouts being used. In the peaking phase training has to bring all the essential components together. In the tapering phase, the emphasis will be on resting and building energy stores and getting mentally prepared.
4. Range of Training: In cycling, the best preparation consists of a balanced plan that focuses on the major physical and tactical components of competition; endurance capacity, muscular strength, lactic acid tolerance and oxygen intake (Vo2), individual and team tactics and strategies and course knowledge. All of this has to be done in a sequence that brings the athlete to the event fully prepared.
5. Avoiding Injury: This becomes more and more important as training reaches it’s highest levels and racing is more frequent. Over-training and injury are avoided by carefully balancing the proportion of work and recovery. This is where close monitoring is necessary, both by the coach and by the athlete. The art of coaching lies in knowing how hard you can push an athlete without inducing excessive fatigue, which leads to poor performance, illness and injury. The longer I coach the more careful I become in advising rest at the first sign over training or fatigue.
6. Specificity: Once the athlete is strong enough, it makes sense to mimic as closely as possible the stresses of competition during the training process. As an event approaches more specific stresses are placed in the training to prepare the athlete for the demands of competition. In the early stages of a training phase workouts are longer to build conditioning but as the competition gets nearer training has to be compressed and specific and focus on the hardest parts of the event.
7. Acclimation: Racing conditions can be very diverse and challenging. Heat and altitude are the most difficult. If possible it is a good idea to adjust to whatever conditions are expected for the event, like training during the heat of the day to prepare for a hot race. Altitude is a bit trickier and requires 18-21 days of very specialized training at altitude before the event. In both cases it is best to go in fully hydrated and well rested.
8. Mental Training: You must believe you can win, even though you may not win very often. The athlete who cannot handle defeat and learn from the process will have a more difficult time learning how to win. Someone who expects to win, who feels that he or she ought to win, will be less likely to give way under pressure than someone who merely hopes to win. The most useful tool in building this attitude is rehearsal of all the possible scenarios. This includes riding strongly at the front, maintaining good position, closing gaps before they open, being patient as the race develops and having a strong finishing sprint. Mental rehearsal also help build confidence for winning.
9. Analyzing the Event: The more you know about the nature of the event, the better you will be able to handle it. For a long road race you will want to know exactly where the hills are, what the terrain is like, what the weather will be, and whether there are any peculiar features such as bad pavement or technical descents. Wherever possible, pre ride or drive the course so that you can go through mental rehearsals of riding a winning race. If you expect any problems with traveling, feeding or getting accommodations, work these out well in advance so that you are not worried about them once you arrive.
10. Race Tactics: You have your plan for your training, now you must also have a winning plan for the event. You need to know the competition and what they are likely to do. You need a plan to deal with whatever situation might come up. Know your own strengths and weaknesses and be ready to respond with your best effort and skills under pressure. This is the hardest part. If, for example, you have decided that the best time to attack in the crit is 5 laps to go because you are a strong TT rider and can go the distance than light the fuse at 5 to go and don’t look back. Once you make your winning move, play it out all the way to the line.