Shortcut The Process To Winning By Fine-Tuning The Inner Game: Taking a Cue From The Jazz Apple Team Philosophy

Posted: June 18th, 2009 | Filed under: Bike Racing and Training, Growth and Development | Tags: , , , , , |

In bike racing, as with any competitive endeavor in life, it’s important to experience physically what it takes to win, in order to imprint ”success“ firmly into the mind in order to be able to repeat a successful performance over and over again, at will. Usually, this process of learning what to do, how to do it, and how to time moves perfectly is a long and time consuming learning curve.

But the Jazz Apple Women’s Cycling Team have a different attitude. Jazz Apples’ Directeur Sportif Susy Pryde and Assistant Directeur Dotsie Bausch are pioneering a unique experience-driven development program by playing the role of both racer and directeur, mentoring their squad from within the peloton.

In addition, the Jazz Apples Women’s Development Team offers a holistic approach to training by incorporating mental, physical, and emotional support to develop smart and well-rounded racers, and imbue some semblance of balance to the life of the on-the-go professional racer.

”Learning how to manage oneself away from home, financially, emotionally and athletically is large part of being a successful athlete,“ said Pryde. In addition to managing oneself, Pryde understands the importance and responsibility an athlete plays in representing a sponsor and teaches the girls how to present themselves in a way that is conducive to promoting their team brand.

Here we explore how this innovative team is developing younger riders, while providing practical tips that anyone can apply immediately to improve their results.

MASTER THE INNER GAME OF CYCLING FOR OUTER GAME RESULTS
As in any endeavor, knowledge and information are only one part of the equation – the physical experience of knowledge is what creates understanding and results. There is a reason some racers consistently win, time and time again, while others consistently rank in the top 5 or 10 without win – the winningest racers have a clear image and physical experience of it takes to win, and with this image, are able to produce successful results reality.

Though being the strongest rider in the field never hurts, any rider can better their results and win more titles by also racing smart. Frequently called “chess on wheels”, effective bike racing involves learning which breakaways to follow, what moves to make, when to be patient, and when to be aggressive.

Reading riders is something of an art, versus science. As veteran racer Michael Creed of Team Type 1 said, ”I’m pretty good at reading when the guys are tired, I can sense that stuff and I know how to use it.“

But how does one learn to have this sixth sense? ”Necessity is the mother of invention,“ laughed Creed.

Bausch and Pryde have a different way of approaching this: Through direct, in-race instruction.

”It’s hard to give really effective coaching from the team cars,“ explained Bausch. ”As a [pro women’s] development team, we’re usually sitting too far back in the team cars to be able to see what’s going on, how the race is developing. Sure we have meetings before and after, but it’s just not the same.”

Following Pryde’s lead, Bausch was inspired to parlay her years of race successes, which include 3rd at the 2007 Pan Am Games, 2007 National Pursuit Individual and Team Champion titles and numerous Queen of the Mountains jerseys, to the next generation of racers. At the recent Nature Valley Grand Prix, Bausch was seen racing alongside and leading out the girls, explaining which breaks to follow and how to read the viability of a break, even launching into a breakaway herself as a way to use her talents to bring more attention to the team as a whole.

How well does this technique work?

“We got Ruth [Corset] the Queen of the Mountains Jerseys at [The Liberty Classic In Philadelphia] and at [Tour du Grand, ] Montréal!” beamed Bausch.

Hearing the enthusiasm in her voice, it’s easy to see how rewarding it is for Bausch to step into a mentorship role, a role she describes as “the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done on a bike”.

Though the single-minded focus and discipline it takes to be competitive as a top level racer – or soon to be top level racer – is necessary, “It got tiring to just focus on me me me, and then, oh yeah, me,” laughed Bausch. “I felt fulfilled and slightly bored just focusing on myself. I thought, I’m done. It’s totally invigorating, passing [my race knowledge] on. They give me the reason to fight, to do it for the girls, because otherwise I’d be chillin’ in the back, or maybe not racing at all. At this level you can’t just step in and out of racing.”

Pryde credits Webcor Builder director Laura Charmaeda with teaching her how to race, and enjoys knowing that she can now pay it forward.

“When I was new to racing, we all really looked up to Susy,” explained Bausch. “She was always seeing where she could help, who she could give a push to. She could say one thing, and that one thing can last a lifetime with them.”

“The girls can have such an impact on others, just by a simple word of encouragement. We like to teach the girls not just for themselves, but to be leaders in the peloton and to take what they learn to other teams.”

MATCHING INNER BELIEFS WITH OUTER CAPACITIES TO CREATE RESULTS

The inner game of bike racing includes in-race tactics and on-bike techniques, but it starts with coming from both a physical and mental preparedness. Being a New Zealand-based team, one side-effect advantage of the Jazz Apple squad is their ability spend extended periods of time together between races, rather than instantly jetting off back to home. Pryde and Bausch use this time as an opportunity to teach the mental game of recovery and between-race preparedness.

“Some of them feel that they were fitter earlier, but really it’s that the racing is starting to take its toll on the central nervous system,” said Bausch. “The traveling, the racing, the being away from home, the sleeping on different beds, the different hotels, the different host houses. Your body starts to get used to it the longer you do it. YOU just get more resilient. But the first few years it’s kind of shocking.” This is the kind of experience and encouragement a young rider needs as they emerge through the growing process.

THE INNER DIALOGUE, GIVEN THROUGH OUTER DIALOGUE
Another job of the directeur sportif is to help riders create an inner dialogue congruent with success, and alert riders as to which moves are worthwhile. On the rivet and in the red zone, it’s difficult to think clearly and positively, let alone see opportunities.

For example, at the Stillwater Criterium of the 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix, racers faced Chilkoot Hill, a 700 meter hill with an average grade of 22%. Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) finished second on the stage, and acknowledged the role her directeur played in encouraging her through each lap, saying, “I had my director in my ear reminding me to chill, keep my own tempo, stick with them on the climb.”

Similarly, the day’s third place finisher Andrea Dvorak (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) remembered, “When Kristin [Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team)] started to go up the road with Shelley and get a little gap, my director said into my ear, ‘Close that gap, close that gap! It’ll be worth your while.’ So I put in an effort, caught them, and off we went.”

FOCUS FIRST ON THE PROCESS AND THE RESULTS WILL FOLLOW
Once a racer has done all they “should” and “can” to prepare for a race, , sometimes it’s simply time to relax and enjoy the ride. In business there is the idea that if you focus on money, none will come. But if you focus on creating value, the money will come as a natural side effect. Similarly, focus on the process, the results will come. But fall into the trap of focusing on results, and you may find yourself in a stressful position.

“We definitely focus on process goals with the team,” explained Bausch. “In the end, you’re going to lose more races than you win, and you have to have the right attitude through it.”

Michael Creed (TT1) shared a similar viewpoint. “When I was younger, I had nothing to lose. No one expected anything from me. When you allow yourself to fail, you just want to get better. Because of that, you’re successful. But when I became afraid of failing, I wouldn’t let myself go all-out. I had an excuse – form, weather, whatever. In cycling, or anything competitive in life, if you don’t go full out you’re going to fail.”

“I had to drop my ego, and allow myself to fail. Drop expectations, and quit wanting for it to get easier. It never does.”

CREATE YOUR OWN CHEERING SQUAD
What if we’re not blessed enough to race with a team like Jazz Apples? What if we don’t have a directeur sportif encouraging us through tough decisions and searing pain?

Dotsie offered some strategy tips to help learn the game of cycling.

“Observe! Really try to observe some of the teams. Try to figure out the team’s mission, try to guess it the night before and then see what happens during the race. Play a game with it! Be present in the race and observe the different teams – don’t just blindly go after everything that’s going up the road and blindly attack.”

“Figure out, ‘Ah, they’re sending that person’, and try to figure out why, and what’s going on, and start to see the combinations that come together and realize what might actually make it up the road. Figure out the different combinations the teams are going to let up the road.”

On a personal level, Bausch encouraged opening a dialogue with team directors after races. Not only will this help you learn, but it will also get you noticed as a thinking rider and start to set you apart from the rest of the peloton.

“It’s okay to go up to some of the directors and ask, ‘I noticed you were doing this, and doing that, what was the thinking behind that? ‘ I think some of the girls are timid, thinking that they’re getting in the way, but you can probably talk to any director. They’re really pretty approachable people, and would love for someone to ask intelligent questions.”

LEARN TO GO ‘ALL OUT’
While it may seem that there is something to lose, practice asking yourself the question, “What if I had nothing to lose, what would I do now, or differently?”

Sometimes the answer will surprise you. And sometimes not. But what asking this simple question does is it cuts through all of the excuses and potential excuses in your mind, and focuses you on the task at hand.

If the mind can only focus on one feeling at a time, might as well squeeze out the negative and make way for the positive.

CRAFT YOUR OWN INNER DIALOGUE BEFOREHAND
Create and implement a mantra. Let’s face it, in moments of pain there can be little brain space left to create something in the moment. Start practicing using a mantra now in your training. Choose one, and run with it.

A few examples to choose from:
”Keep your cool“
”Smooth“
”Relax relax relax“

SEE IT IN YOUR MIND’S EYE, AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD WILL FOLLOW
Visualize it in real time.

Viatcheslav Ekimov, well-decorated and legendary rider with 3 Olympic Medals, 77 pro victories, and over 150 trips to the podium, used visualization to as part of his training. He visualized courses in preparation for races, and he visualized himself training in real time. If a course took an hour to ride, he would visualize it over the course of an hour.

Consider this study:
“Conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago, a study was done where he split people into three groups and tested each group on how many free throws they could make.

After this, he had the first group practice free throws every day for an hour.
The second group just visualized themselves making free throws.
The third group did nothing.
After 30 days, he tested them again.
The first group improved by 24%.
The second group improved by 23% without touching a basketball!!!!
The third group did not improve which was expected.”

Studies show that the neural pathways created from simply visualizing an act are similar to ones create by actually performing the act physically.

To reap the greatest benefits of visualization, it’s important to engage as many senses as possible.

What does it LOOK LIKE to visualize your race?
What are the SOUNDS you hear? What are people saying to you? What are you saying to yourself?
What are you SMELLING during the race?
How does it FEEL, both in your body, and the temperature of the sun and wind on your skin?
What are you TASTING? Are you drinking a sport drink, eating a Gu?

——–
In the end, it’s about preparation. Racers are often heard saying that they were ”granted miracles“ or that ”everything just amazingly came together perfectly on one day“ (Kristin Armstrong, on winning the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics). If opportunity favors a prepared mind, what can you do to bring your best game to the plate?

Align yourself with greatness and experience, and hold tight to your vision of success.

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