Psychology of endurance cyclists

This a study by Prof Wesley Peters that he completed on cyclists participating in December 2023 Desert Dash. A very interesting read and maybe explains why cyclists and athletes love the challenges of long distances.

The link to the article at Forumonline:

Comment from Namibian top extreme distance cyclist Nabil Robiati: “Thank you Prof. Wes. Indeed the mind plays a bigger role in endurance cycling than people think. The biggest psychological predictor in getting your mind trained is perseverance. It is important to always visualize yourself in your training, and in your races and events. Visualize yourself before you ride, while your ride, and the finish line. Visualize the pain before it happens. Even before you sleep, every night, just visualize your ride & your pain and the route and predict your emotions. Part of the mental toughness and training is exactly that. To trust that victories will follow crisis and that highs will follow lows.”