News

09 March 2010

Leigh De Luca has asked Simon how he mentally handles tough situations on the bike and what he tells himself to get his heart rate and breathing back under control.

In this situation I try to focus on the things I can control and don’t get preoccupied with other riders or anything out of my control. I stay focused on specific points in the race coming up and try to create small goals for instance, get over the next climb, get to the front for the next cross wind section etc. The better you are prepared for the race the easier this is.

A good example of this was during stage 15 at the 2008 Tour de France. I knew heading into the final climb that I was not the strongest in the group and that I would need to be on top of my game in order to give it my best shot at winning the stage. When I got dropped from Martinez and Pate, I had to stay focused and ride my own race. If I had panicked and gone into the red too early then my race would have been over, so I instead got into my own rhythm. I was able to maintain a gap about 100m from the two guys so I knew that if I had to I could bridge across but it was better to wait and continue riding tempo for as long as I could. The guys in front were playing cat and mouse so I took a big risk here but in the end it payed off.
 
I make a point of eating and drinking at regular intervals as this gives me a plan to follow and something to think about. Another important point is that I always try to think to myself that if I’m hurting then it’s more than likely that everyone else is as well so mentally I can be prepared for the hard parts of the race.

Simon.

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