Get your season dialled from start to finish with tips from the multiple World Champion and World Cup Champion downhill racer Rachel Atherton.
Whatever your race discipline, how you perform come race day is everything to do with how you prepare. When you’re facing a whole season of events, consistent performance is crucial. We spoke to the woman who’s managed to complete a ‘perfect season’ in downhill MTB, winning every single round and the World Champs to boot. If anyone knows how to put in a consistently great performance, it’s her.
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On Sunday, Atherton chased the field in this year's Red Bull Foxhunt, a mass-start downhill mountain bike race that saw the World Champion attempt to beat over 250 women down a race course in England's Lake District, and she took a few minutes out from sharing advice and chatting with the riders taking part to give us the benefit of her lifetime of race experience.
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1. Take each race at a time
"This is a big thing.” Atherton tells BikeRadar. “You need to prepare perfectly, prepare for each race, and take each race on its own.”
This means not only ensuring that you are in the best condition you can be for each event, but also that you’ve taken the time to look at the specifics of that event and what you need to do to be ready for it. Every course is different, terrain can vary, and elements like weather conditions can have a big effect on performance.
2. Don’t get complacent
By the end of the 2016 race season Atherton had won 14 races in a row. Her dominance has made her the first rider in the history of downhill MTB to win every World Cup in a season, but you’d be wrong to think that she doesn’t work hard for every single event.
3. Experience is key
4. Prepare mentally
5. Practice, practice, practice
6. Set yourself a race-day routine
7. Use the off-season wisely
8. Listen to your body
9. Enjoy it!
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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