Giro d'Italia - a challenge for body and mind
The challenges are often too big - or at least that's how they should appear. The Italians call one of the mythical passes that regularly appear in the altitude profile of the Giro d'Italia the "Marmolada". The Marmolada - Marmolata in German - is the highest peak in the Dolomites at 3343 metres and cannot be ridden on a racing bike. But thanks to its mighty name, an Alpine pass becomes a mammoth task - an even more daunting climb than the summit of the Fedaia Pass, as the crossing is correctly named on maps.
It is 2052 metres high and - when tackled from the east - one of the most difficult climbs in the Dolomites. The last six kilometres are uphill at an average gradient of more than ten per cent - with a peak of 16 per cent. The route planners from Giro d'Italia organiser RCS had devised precisely this pass as the setting for the final showdown in the 2022 edition of the race - as the conclusion of a 168-kilometre ride through the Dolomites, with a total of 4,700 metres of ascent. At the end of three weeks of ups and downs. When body and mind are already tired. A final test of endurance - showing toughness against yourself and against others.
This is where the decisive duel took place: three kilometres before the finish, Olympic champion Richard Carapaz started, Jai Hindley immediately stormed past and a few moments later he was away. At the top, the Australian cheered briefly before falling into the arms of his team doctor, completely exhausted. "It was super tough, probably the biggest performance I've ever put in. I've never gone that low on a bike before," he recalled weeks later in an interview with TOUR.
He had put almost one and a half minutes between himself and the 2019 Giro winner in just a few kilometres, laying the foundation for overall victory. Against an opponent who had previously seemed at least equal to him for three weeks and from whom a mere three seconds had separated him after 19 stages. At the foot of the Marmolada, the battle culminated in who was the toughest, who had the greatest resilience. "Nobody was feeling great anymore - it became a matter of the head. When Carapaz attacked, I knew I had to go over the top. When you attack and someone else passes you, it's psychologically super tough," said Hindley, describing the decisive moment. Hindley drove past, Carapaz's legs became heavy as lead.
Giro d'Italia - Three weeks, countless obstacles
The Fedaia Pass was the last high mountain, the last resistance that the Giro aspirants had to overcome. But only the last visible obstacle - all in all, a Grand Tour like the Tour de France or Giro d'Italia is something like the supreme discipline of suffering and resilience - both physically and mentally. "These races are definitely one of the greatest tests of resilience in sport: you have to deliver high performance and a great capacity for suffering over a long period of time," emphasises sports psychology expert Dr Christian Zepp.
The magic word in sports psychology: resilience
A buzzword that is by no means new in science, but has also reached cycling with increasing professionalisation. "Instead of resilience, I also talk about resistance. It's about how you can deal with resistance," explains Zepp. In a three-week stage race, the obstacles can be countless: 21 days of racing, more than 3,000 kilometres of distance, more than 80 hours in the hard saddle with so many opportunities for setbacks, for psychological lows: Crashes, seat problems, colds, exhaustion, strong or unfair opponents, high mountains, dangerous descents, heat, cold and rain, defects and material problems, uncooperative team mates. Countless opportunities to show resilience.
Resilience can be learnt
"It's about doing it anyway, even though I'm doing badly. It's important to do it anyway," emphasises Zepp. To put it bluntly: as winners of the toughest stage races, real defiant riders have the edge. These defiant riders, who don't just ride fast when the weather is good and their form is top, have to be recognised in the talent pool. Or as Christian Pömer, Sports Director at Bora-Hansgrohe, puts it: "It's about putting in the watts per kilogramme even if you've had seven faults and your girlfriend has just left you."
Pömer's racing team had snapped up Hindley and the Russian Aleksandr Vlasov on the transfer market for the 2022 season, who brought a new quality to the team after the departure of Peter Sagan - as potential winners of major national tours, as talented resistance fighters. "It was an aha moment when they both joined the team," says Pömer, who has been one of the team's sporting directors for more than a decade. He is referring to the way in which Hindley approached the overall Giro victory project despite a number of problems - or how Vlasov defended fifth place in the Tour de France despite many setbacks and disruptive factors.
You can't turn off the rain
Pömer believes it is important to emphasise the psychological factors in professional cycling more strongly and to train the athletes in them. Pömer, himself once a semi-pro cyclist, has a master's degree in mental coaching from the University of Salzburg. He knows the theory and can talk in detail about resilience. The two newly recruited team leaders Hindley and Vlasov showed him what distinguishes the very best from the very best professional cyclists - especially in dealing with problems and setbacks in three-week stage races.
Resilience is not innate, it can be learnt. Personal experience, self-coaching or external psychological support - the necessary strategies can be acquired in very different ways. As different as the types of resilient cyclists are. Pömer describes the Giro winner Hindley as "a cool, laid-back guy", while the tour specialist Vlasov is "introverted and stoic". The Russian convinced his team with great toughness against himself, fighting at his personal limit for three weeks at the last Tour de France. "He was far from his best. But he showed outstanding resilience," praised Pömer.
How was Vlasov able to fight his way through so successfully? "I simply developed such strategies over the years as a professional," says the professional cyclist himself, a self-taught mental coach. His strategy: "You shouldn't take a setback too personally. It can happen to anyone at any time. You then simply focus on what is possible. You owe it to yourself and the team. There's also no point in dwelling on things that are out of your control," says the Russian. You can't just turn off the rain, for example.
It's about delivering the watts per kilogramme even if you've had seven defects and your girlfriend has just left you! (Christian Pömer, Team Bora-Hansgrohe)
Vlasov is a resilience worker, others are the ones who think about it. "It's about being mindful of yourself," emphasises expert Zepp. One strategy: "You talk to yourself and ask yourself questions like: Where am I? What's important right now?" he says. "It's about performance in sport, in the here and now. You should block out everything else - including thoughts of possible failure - at this moment."
Hindley wants to pass the next biggest resilience test this year - at the Tour de France, where the pressure, stress and attention are even greater than at the Giro d'Italia, the second most important stage race of the year, where a few disruptive factors are added. In return, Vlasov is trying his hand at leading the Bora team at the Giro this year - flanked by Lennard Kämna, who is set to complete his first three-week resilience test at the highest level in Italy. The latter two are comparatively good time trial specialists who should have better chances on the Giro course this year.
Falling down and getting up again
They are likely to face strong rivals in Italy: The top favourite is Primoz Roglic from Slovenia, who crashes from time to time, often falls, but gets up again. "Resilience means that I get back on my bike and fight my way back into the peloton, even though I might find it difficult," says Zepp. Hardly any other sport tells the story of falling down and getting back up better than cycling.
Geraint Thomas should not be written off. The 36-year-old Welshman has suffered low blows at the Giro in the past. His former team-mate Bradley Wiggins once said of him: "He can go as low as I've ever seen anyone go. He's not fazed by crashes. He's a better competitor than the others." In other words: more resilient.
Giro d'Italia - Best head, best legs
But the winner of the 2018 Tour de France has strong opponents in the upcoming Giro. Newcomer Remco Evenepoel, who comes to Italy with the most important lessons from last year's Vuelta victory: "After a crash, you always have a setback after a few days, a bad day. If that happens in the Giro, which I hope it doesn't, then I tell myself: stay calm, limit the damage! And I know now that I'm good on steep climbs, I've worked hard on that!"
Two insights that make him more resilient. "We have found the perfect balance between weight, performance and nutrition - we realised that after the Vuelta. We can't expect any more surprises - that makes it very relaxed," emphasises Evenepoel. He has optimised what he can influence. The rest is out of his hands.
It almost sounds as if the 23-year-old Evenepoel has quoted from a manual for mental coaching suitable for everyday use. One thing is certain: the upcoming Giro will once again be a tough test for the resilience of the professional cyclists - both physically and mentally. In the end, the winner of the Giro will be the one with the best head and the best legs. "Psyche and physique are closely intertwined," Pömer knows.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
