RIGHT YOUR FIRE

All cyclists are armed with psychological tricks and techniques to help them overcome the unique mental challenges of cycling - from how to manage pain on a brutal 17 per cent climb to how to psyche yourself up for a 50-miler on a rainy weekend. But ever since Covid-19 arrived, riders have faced a new set of psychological obstacles. Unable to travel far, we’re forced to repeat the same old local roads. Intermittently blocked from meeting up in large groups, we’re denied the motivational buzz of cycling clubs and forced to do more solo rides. With our health and finances under threat, we’re facing additional stress, which makes it harder to focus on training. And with the painfully slow return of sportives, and foreign travel difficult, the big goals and events that normally keep us focused have disappeared into oblivion.

One psychological factor that hasn’t changed, however, is that cyclists love a challenge. And this current predicament undoubtedly represents a daunting new hill to climb. But it’s clear that cyclists need new mental strategies to help navigate this strange new landscape.

“One of the issues we have in sport generally is that a large number of people are externally motivated,” explains Dr Karen Howells, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Cardi" Metropolitan University. “These extrinsic motivations might, at one extreme, be all about the winning - a medal, say, or beating somebody or aiming high in the rankings. We’ve