‘Nutrition is important, being methodical is good, but being mentally carefree is more important’ – Filippo Ganna advises against diet and training obsessions

“Unlike a lot of people, I don’t have a mental coach or sports psychologist. I prefer to speak to my friends who don’t know much about cycling when I have any doubts. They can touch the nerve that I can’t see and what I really need to work on,” Ganna said, talking openly and emotionally after his Tirreno-Adriatico stage victory.

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“My friends, former riders, my partner and my family don’t think about watts, nutrition and everything on their minds. I prefer to speak to them than focus on every detail.”

Ganna seemed to want to reach out to young riders in the sport, advising them to enjoy the simple emotions of cycling rather than becoming obsessive of every detail.

“I like the methodical side of cycling, I like the research too, but I’m not esasperated like so many other riders,” he said.

“This winter, I tried to focus closely on my nutrition, but after a week, I cracked. I went back to doing what I did last year, and I don’t think my performances were that bad… Eating less can help to lose weight, but when I ate more, I struggled less and still lost weight.

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“I see things on social media where young riders follow strict diets and weigh their food. That makes me smile and think about how I won my first world time trial title by eating Nutella, scrambled eggs and bacon.

“Nutrition is important, being methodical is good, but being mentally carefree is more important.”