Your heart’s racing, hands are sweaty, and in your mind, you’re already flying over the bars – damn! Mountain biking is more than just a physical sport. It’s a mental challenge, a constant struggle with your own limits and fears. But how do you keep a cool head when the pressure mounts and you’re pushing your limits?

It’s no secret that many of today’s sports are no longer just physical abilities, technical skills, or having the right equipment. There’s another crucial factor at play, and it trumps them all: the mind. If your mental game isn’t on point, nothing works, and even the best gear and toughest training regiment won’t be able to make up for it.

Mental barriers, lack of motivation and confidence, and everyday stress are things we all deal with in life – even when we’re out on our bikes. Yet, it’s supposed to be a way for us to unwind and get away from it all, letting us switch off our minds… So, it’s time to look behind the scenes, dive into the world of mental strength, and discover how we can turn doubts and fears into motivation and self-confidence.

Don’t worry, we’re not about to hit you with our own, half-baked, pseudo-physiological ideas or unexamined clichés. Instead, we did what most professional athletes have long since integrated into their training routines. We spent hours talking with sports psychologists, psychotherapists, and mental coaches. Doing so allowed us to gain valuable insights, explore fascinating topics, and learn how to strengthen our mental game with the right tools.

Veronika Mayerhofer and Caja Schöpf shared a wealth of valuable knowledge and fascinating insights with us, which they didn’t just gain through their work but also from personal experiences. Hailing from Austria, Veronika has firsthand experience of what it means to be under intense pressure and mental stress, having competed as a cross-country skier in the World Cup and the Sochi Winter Olympics. However, after taking the opportunity to participate in a student-athlete program in the USA, she quickly realised how the right support, tailored to her, along with a suitable environment, can significantly enhance athletic performance.

Motivated to pass this knowledge and these experiences on to other athletes, Veronika pursued a master’s degree in psychology, along with additional training as a sports psychologist. She then spent several years working as a Mental Performance Specialist at the Red Bull Performance Center, where she worked with some of the best athletes like hard enduro phenomenon Mani Lettenbichler, and freestyle skier and Olympic champion Mathilde Gremaud. Through this, Veronika gained insights into the diverse disciplines and mindsets of professional athletes. With her accumulated expertise, she went on to establish her own practice in sports psychology and psychotherapy, where she continues to support top athletes as well as beginners and clubs. Besides giving us many aha moments, chatting with her also allowed us to glimpse the future of sports psychology.

With a degree in psychology, a master’s in business psychology, and additional training as a sports psychologist, Caja Schöpf also had a lot of valuable experiences and useful sports psychology tools to share with us. Drawing from her career as a World Cup and World Championship freestyle skier, she has a wealth of knowledge and can relate to the situations experienced by top-tier athletes. As if that wasn’t enough, she has also hosted many fascinating guests and gotten a wide range of perspectives on her own sports psychology podcast, “Sport im Kopf” (Sport in the Mind).

The pioneering youth

The recognition of sports psychology in both professional and amateur sports has increased significantly in the past 5 to 10 years – thankfully! What was once dismissed as an unimportant or even laughable aspect of training has now become an essential part of athletic preparation and performance enhancement. This change is largely due to more and more athletes openly discussing their mental challenges and experiences. As a result, mental health is no longer a taboo subject in sports, and sports psychology is now recognized as legitimate, necessary, part and parcel of performance optimization.

Young athletes’ open minded approach to mental challenges initially caught many of us off guard. However, it was received very positively and has since not just led to athletes engaging more deeply with the topic, but also encouraged them to share their own experiences. Prominent examples like professional cyclists Tahnée Seagraves and Jenny Rissveds have clearly demonstrated how crucial mental health is for both the success and well-being of athletes in the performance arena. This has also made the public and media recognise the importance of mental health in general.

Despite this progress, there are still significant differences in the acceptance and integration of sports psychology across different generations and disciplines. Some of the older generations, who grew up in a time when mental strength was often equated with toughness, are still hesitant to seek the support of a sports psychologist or to speak openly about it. To them, mental issues are a sign of weakness that must be overcome, rather than being accepted as part of the human experience. Although this generation of athletes is gradually retiring, there are still many coaches, managers, and relatives with similarly questionable views.

Younger athletes, on the other hand, are generally more open to new approaches and techniques. They are growing up in an era where mental health is increasingly in the spotlight and far more widely accepted. This generation views sports psychology not just as a means to enhance performance, but also as an important factor for overall well-being and personal development. They understand that mental strength isn’t just about enduring tough times, but also about seeking support when needed and proactively working on their mental health. A key concept here is resilience – the ability to withstand mental pressure while also being able to assess it. This awareness allows them to recognize when they’ve reached a mental limit and whether it might even be necessary to take a break.

Views on sports psychology also vary significantly between different sports. In physically dominated disciplines, this may be due to the prevailing belief that physical abilities and techniques are all it takes. However, there’s a noticeable shift even here, as more and more coaches and athletes are recognizing that mental strength can be crucial for delivering peak performance on demand.

Overall, it’s clear that sports psychology is not just a temporary trend, but rather a lasting change in how athletes and coaches approach the path to success. Youth development is particularly important in this context, both through direct interaction with individual athletes and collaboration with clubs and organisations, to promote early awareness. Caja and Veronika both speak very positively of their work with young athletes and their acceptance and interest in this field.

There’s a major difference between the generations when it comes to using social media, and the resulting pressure of doing so. These platforms provide a stage for athletes to promote themselves, and create a compulsion to present perfection, which impacts both the athletic and mental condition of athletes. The pressure to constantly compare oneself with others intensifies as the continuous availability of training data and the achievements of other athletes lead to relentless competition. At the same time, hateful comments and hostility exacerbate feelings of insecurity, which is something the older generations weren’t exposed to. Therefore, it is all the more important for young athletes to learn how to balance the pressure of competition with personal well-being by integrating stress management and mindfulness techniques into their daily routines.

The mental toolbox

The pressure to perform is a constant companion for many athletes, including weekend warriors. That said, the pressure and expectations placed on elite athletes can become particularly overwhelming, where success is the exception rather than the rule. However, this isn’t limited to just sports. There’s a constant demand to deliver optimum performance in both our private and professional lives, which can become incredibly burdensome. Athletes often report that the pressure to meet both athletic and personal expectations can suck all the joy from the sport they once loved. As Veronika aptly puts it: “Success is addictive, but it’s also a curse.” This sums up the dilemma many athletes face: the drive to continuously improve can turn into an obsession that overshadows all other aspects of life.

Injuries are another challenge that both professional and amateur athletes may face. It’s practically inevitable in many disciplines and can have a lasting impact on us. Of course, we can reduce the risk of injury with preventive measures such as wearing the appropriate protective gear and doing specific training. But who really wants to add more tedious exercises to what may be an already busy training schedule? However, that’s not the case when it comes to mental work, as mental training can often be easily integrated, allowing you to prepare for potential injuries and their consequences in advance.

When an injury occurs, you can rely on your mental preparation – from the moment it happens and the initial shock, to rehabilitation and the first steps getting back into the sport. Seeking the support of a sports psychologist can be immensely valuable in situations like these, not just helping you cope during the acute phase, but also in the long term. Doing the mental work helps promote physical recovery while also strengthening mental resilience, enabling you to get back on your feet and face new challenges.

Circling back to us and our need for speed, most gravity-focused riders struggle primarily with mental challenges while out on their bikes. We grapple with things like, can I handle the descent? Am I fast enough to clear the jump? Is it even worth the risk to keep up with my buddies, or should I just back off and do my own thing? In situations like these, it helps to manage your levels of excitement and adrenaline. You don’t want too much, nor do you want too little. With a little bit of self-help, you can learn to consciously steer your mindset. Whether it’s through controlled breathing exercises, positive thoughts, blocking out distractions, or visualising your movements, the choice is yours. After all, you know yourself best and know which of these tools is most effective for you.

What can you do to overcome your mental barriers?

Positive self-talk: Develop a personal mantra like “I’ve got this” or “his is easy” to strengthen your mindset through positive thinking. When you’re faced with a daunting feature, you can recall this exact phrase to boost your confidence.

Controlled breathing exercises: A short sequence of breathing exercises can help you manage your adrenaline levels and, in turn, your stress. For example: sit or stand calmly and take three deep breaths, imagining you’re directing the air into your head, then exhale deeply. After that, repeat this three times for your chest and then three times for your legs. It’s best to close your eyes and avoid distractions while doing this. When you’re done, get back on your bike and send it!

Visualisation: Close your eyes, place your hands on the imaginary handlebars. Picture yourself rolling up to the new feature, tensing your body, and executing the necessary movement. Enjoy the air-time, and don’t forget to stick the landing! ;)

CCC: Catch, Check, and Control. This is a particularly effective method that Caja highly recommends. Take a moment to recognize the negative thoughts. Once you’ve caught them, you can consciously filter them out and take control.

Routine: Routines and adjustments in your environment can help eliminate unforeseen problems and maintain your focus in competition settings or other recurring situations. Eat a familiar breakfast, listen to your favourite song, or warm up with your usual exercises.

Even if you’re not on your way to the Olympic Games or the next training camp, sports psychologists like Caja and Veronika are there to support you. They can probably make you faster and more confident on your bike than that shiny new carbon wheelset that lets you drop 100 grams and € 2,000.

If you want to perform at your best on the trail, you need to have more than just physical fitness. A deep understanding of your own psyche and the willingness to confront your thoughts and feelings will not just make you ride faster, but also more safely. It’s all in the mind, as they say, and with the right mental technique, you won’t be flying over the bars, but rather along the trail! Riding should be something you look forward to, not something you dread.


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Words: Peter Walker Photos: Julian Lemme