Lotte Kopecky was the odds-on favourite to win the UCI Road World Championships in Glasgow, she had declared she wouldn’t let anything set off her nerves in the race, and she certainly didn’t look nervous as she decimated what was left of the field and stormed off to victory.
The Belgian’s steely demeanour cracked in front of the cameras, however, and she couldn’t hold back the tears. Although she wouldn’t directly address the death of her brother in March – she just talked about how she trained through it. “You can stay home and sit on your sofa or you get out and get the work done and I chose the second,” was her reply to queries in the press conference later.
Not all of the riders in peloton are so stone-faced. Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) climbed off during the time trial, citing mental fatigue and a lack of desire to push herself. She obviously overcame those feelings in the women’s race as she fought to put her country on the podium.
Bronze medalist Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Denmark) replied eloquently to questions about Reusser’s statement, “I’m not a machine”
Just as Annemiek van Vleuten touted women’s cycling becoming more professional, with riders following her example of doing altitude training camps, Ludwig and silver medalist Demi Vollering (Netherlands) said the changes come with a lot of pressure.
Ludwig called Reusser “brave” for speaking out. “It’s cool that Marlen saying it because cycling is also the mental part of it you need to pay attention – for some riders, it comes easier than others. For some you need to work on this with a mental coach and or with someone that you trust, to talk about how you’re feeling, and about the pressure [not just from outside] but also your own expectations.”
The emotion showed behind the Danish rider’s eyes, and she said the season had been hard for her.
“I think all athletes are struggling with their own battles. Cycling is a very, very tough sport. Being on the highest level is very hard. The calendar is becoming so big, and [it is difficult] to choose where you plan to perform and also to get that balance where you can get some days off with your family and with your loved ones – to get that mental energy back to where you’re hungry to go out and wanting to win.”
“Sometimes you get it just right, sometimes you don’t.”
Even Vollering, who won five of the Spring Classics, the Dutch title and the Tour de France Femmes before out-sprinting Ludwig to the silver medal in Glasgow, said she works with a mental coach.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…