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![\"Psychologists](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Z9A_3195-1200x1013.jpg\"\/)
Psychologists teach pro cyclists to \u2018prime\u2019 themselves for hardship. (Photo: Gruber Images )<\/p>\nUpdated November 26, 2025 05:40AM<\/p>\n
Pro cycling is a sport of suffering, right? It\u2019s all pain caves, hurt lockers, and mental turmoil.<\/p>\n
Well, actually no.<\/p>\n
At least, not according to the professional psychologists who work with the world\u2019s best teams.<\/p>\n
The mentally primed modern peloton no longer \u201csuffers.\u201d It \u201cregulates and accepts\u201d as part of a psychological framework that\u2019s being taught to help riders park the pain.<\/p>\n
Of course, that\u2019s not to say Tour de France champions like PFP and Pogi don\u2019t \u201cstay hard.\u201d Elite athletes are naturally selected by both their physiology and their ability to endure.<\/p>\n
But pro cyclists are being taught how to suffer \u201cbetter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Psychologists have become a part of many teams\u2019 entourages and are encouraging a mindful, reasoned view of discomfort that contrasts any Goggins-esque head-banging.<\/p>\n
Velo spoke with the therapists who work with EF Education-EasyPost and Human Powered Health to understand how riders are learning to reframe pain.<\/p>\n
The self-fulfilling prophecy of pain and the 3-step method
\nPsychologists teach pro cyclists to \u2018prime\u2019 themselves for hardship. (Photo: Gruber Images )<\/p>\n
Dr Allie Wagener is a Minnesota-based specialist who works with Human Powered Health Women\u2019s WorldTour Team. She also runs her own Achieve Performance<\/a> consultancy.<\/p>\n Wagener explained to Velo on a recent call how she helps riders not to \u201cfear\u201d suffering but to accept and master it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we set ourselves up expecting to \u2018suffer,\u2019 we hold back our physical and mental potential,\u201d she said. \u201cIt can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if we expect something to be hard. You expect it, so in your mind, it will probably become that way.<\/p>\n \u201cBut what if we could train our minds for a willingness to feel the hard, and not make it bigger than it needs to be?\u201d Wagener said.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve all been there. You\u2019ve got a tear-jerker training session scheduled after work, and you spend all day stressing about it.<\/p>\n Even the prospect of the warm up brings you out in cold sweats.<\/p>\n A mentally \u201cprimed\u201d athlete won\u2019t be worried.<\/p>\n \u201cA huge area that we work on is how to go into something hard with a mindset that\u2019s going to optimize performance,\u201d Wagener said.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there\u2019s a badge of honor to talk about suffering, but it\u2019s better for riders to approach it thinking of it as a willingness to endure,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n Wagner and her fellow WorldTour psychologist Nikki Crawley explained to Velo that the concept of \u201cpriming\u201d is at the core of a 3-point process that helps riders to excel at being uncomfortable.<\/p>\n And the good news is, the 3-step method can work for you, too.<\/p>\n So write this down and stick it on your stem. You can thank us later.<\/p>\n 1: Recognise You\u2019re deep into the final minutes of a heinous VO2 Max interval session. Your chest is exploding. Your glutes are burning. You maybe feel a little sick.<\/p>\n The timer slows to quarter-speed as you stare at your headunit and question your life choices.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s normal to have disruptive thoughts when things get hard. It might be self-doubt, or trying to \u2018avoid\u2019 suffering,\u201d Crawley told Velo.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we want riders to build an understanding of how to recognize that in the moment it\u2019s happening. Rather than trying to force away or avoid struggle, we teach a philosophy of acceptance and allowing yourself to acknowledge it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Crawley is a psychologist at the Changing Minds<\/a> performance center. She and her colleagues work across sports, including in pro cycling with the EF Education-EasyPost men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n She explained how rethinking suffering will set up a rider for success.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a practice steeped in the notion of \u201cmental flexibility\u201d and learning to lean into the rational side of the mind.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want riders to be able to be aware of thoughts that are moving them away from their best, and to be able to anchor back on something more helpful,\u201d said Crawley, who has just returned from an EF team camp in Girona.<\/p>\n \u201cFor some riders, that might be thinking about processes. For others, it might be about allowing room for the struggle,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n That\u2019s easier said than done when you\u2019re chewing your bars in the final minutes of your Cat-F Zwift race or a Tour de France mountain stage, right?<\/p>\n That\u2019s why psychologists typically set athletes specific mental exercises to practice during their toughest workouts.<\/p>\n The first step?<\/p>\n Having the awareness to take a mental pause.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is for riders to be able to check in with themselves. Where am I at? What\u2019s showing up for me? There\u2019s a willingness to feel what\u2019s there and to have the confidence to say \u2018I can handle this,’\u201d Wagener said.<\/p>\n 2: Regulate This mindful approach to metabolic stress allows riders to change mental gears.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst, there\u2019s teaching emotional acceptance and the willingness to expose yourself to what shows up,\u201d Wagener said. \u201cThe second piece is learning where to put energy and focus during that hard situation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a conscious transition.\u201d<\/p>\n Wagener and Crawley both suggested physical processes are common \u201canchors\u201d for a mentally tuned rider.<\/p>\n Focusing on pedal stroke or breathing are common. Consciously sitting up from chewing on the stem is another popular prompt.<\/p>\n Crawley said focusing on physicality when the going gets tough is preferable to a rider blasting their finely curated training playlist.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat riders refocus on is different for everybody,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we typically try to encourage riders to break down the moment into processes or cues. That\u2019s a more positive approach than falling back on a distraction or an avoidance.<\/p>\n \u201cAlternatively, some personalities lean toward a more emotion-led reframing,\u201d Crawley continued. \u201cFor them, there\u2019s benefit in thinking about their overarching motivator, their \u2018why.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n 3: Refocus Don\u2019t eye-roll just yet.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s easy to laugh off the \u201cwhy\u201d of pro cyclists who are paid a million dollars a year to ride their bikes.<\/p>\n But there is a long history of emotional riders recounting deep inner motivators.<\/p>\n Grizzled pros have welled up in finish line interviews as they talk of winning for lost friends<\/a>, racing to overcome imposter syndrome<\/a>, or simply wanting to prove a point to doubters.<\/p>\n \u201cI have one rider who had to work really hard to figure out her \u2018why,’\u201d said Wagener, referring to her work with Human Powered Health. \u201cShe worked on it both on and off the bike.<\/p>\n \u201cNow she finally understands what\u2019s motivating her, it\u2019s become a lighthouse that guides her as she\u2019s competing.\u201d<\/p>\n For athletes working with a therapist, exploring motivations can be a long and potentially uncomfortable process grounded in talking therapies and more complex psychological techniques.<\/p>\n For others, it might be much more straightforward.<\/p>\n The fragility of a pro career is enough to drive many of the world\u2019s best through the most miserable workouts.<\/p>\n At the other end of the athletic spectrum, some desk jockey amateurs will endure anything to avenge a Zwift racing defeat.<\/p>\n \u201cRiders need to explore their drivers and the reason why they\u2019re putting themselves through suffering,\u201d Crawley said. \u201cBecause when it gets hard, it\u2019s helpful to draw on to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Strong legs are nothing without a strong head Mindfulness, self-reflection, understanding the \u201cwhy\u201d \u2026 it sounds kinda hippy, right?<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t cycling all about VO2 Max and watts per kilo?<\/p>\n Yes, but only to a point.<\/p>\n Strong legs will only carry a rider as far as their mind allows in cycling\u2019s game of suffering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated November 26, 2025 05:40AM Pro cycling is a sport of suffering, right? It\u2019s all pain caves, hurt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,68224,85,76478,175904,68225,175905,78831,67883],"class_list":["post-310006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-parent_category-road","tag-sports","tag-tag-behind-the-ride","tag-tag-ef-education-easypost","tag-tag-evergreen","tag-tag-human-powered-health","tag-tag-tour-de-france","tag-type-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Z8A_5269-2-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
Pro cyclists are defined by their ability to endure discomfort, but mental training can help them handle even more. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Z8B_0585-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
Therapists help riders become aware of negative thought patterns and teach them how to move beyond them. (Photo: Gruber Images )<\/p>\n
\n![\"Pro](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Z8A_1792-1200x750.jpg\"\/)
Pro cyclists are being taught to better endure suffering so as to maximise performance. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Pro](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Z8B_3324-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
EF Education-EasyPost is one of the many teams to receive regular support from sport psychologists. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/p>\n