It’s Friday night, 11:30 p.m. Tomorrow you’re on the start line of an important race. You’ve been staring at the ceiling for over an hour. All week long, different scenarios have been running through your head. Where will you launch your attack? Have you really done everything you could? What if you get a flat? Is your equipment all set? Every time you picture what could happen, you feel the tension knotting in your stomach. You really need to sleep now—why can’t you? Great, now I can forget about tomorrow. Sound familiar? Then, as a cyclist, you’re probably struggling with competitive anxiety. In this article I’ll share three tips to deal with race nerves as a cyclist.
What is competitive anxiety?
Race nerves prime our body and brain to take action. Physiologically, a lot happens: your body releases adrenaline, your heart rate rises, your muscles tense up, and your thoughts go into overdrive. In essence, it’s a primal response—your body is getting ready to fight or flee. For a cyclist that means: it’s race time!
A bit of tension is good—necessary, even—to perform. Without it, we’d line up bored, barely caring whether the peloton rolls out with or without us. You might even recognize that bored, flat feeling. It becomes a problem when we feel too much competitive anxiety in our body and mind. Every rider has their own tolerance for arousal.
Some riders are affected far less by nerves than others. You probably know that teammate who can sleep in the car on the way to the race while you’re already mentally racing. Or the rider who’s still cracking jokes five minutes before the start and taking their time for one last bathroom break.
Arousal & performance
The best way to get a picture of what this looks like is through the one below. Tension—or arousal—rises, and your performance rises with it. This continues until you hit the point where your performance is optimal. If arousal keeps increasing beyond that, your performance starts to suffer. From that moment on, you may find yourself lying awake at night, making tactical mistakes, your legs seizing up, and feeling like you can’t even think rationally. Telling left from right becomes a challenge, and muscle tension climbs so high that your movements turn mechanical and robotic. This is when competitive anxiety kicks in.
3 ways to decrease competitive anxiety
1. Focus on the breath
The most important and effective way to lower the tension in your body is through breathing techniques. By consciously breathing slowly and deeply, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system—the part that drives relaxation and recovery. This brings your body back into balance and you feel calmer right away.
If you notice your thoughts racing right before the race, this is an excellent way to bring your internal revs back down.
How to practice it:
Sit or stand upright and place one hand on your belly (you can do this on the bike, too).
Inhale gently through your nose and try to push your belly forward (as if you’re inflating a balloon).
Exhale slowly through your mouth, a bit longer than your inhale (for example: 4 counts in, 8 counts out).
Repeat a few times until you feel your heart rate and tension drop.
Practical example for cyclists:
Right before the start, when tension rises and your breathing creeps up, take 3–5 deep belly breaths. You’ll immediately feel your shoulders drop, your head clear, and you’ll roll up to the start with more focus and confidence.
2. Take control over your thoughts
Thoughts have a huge impact on how you feel and perform. Negative thoughts like “What if I fail again?” or “I hope I don’t underperform today” increase tension and can even paralyze you. By deliberately choosing helpful self-talk, you turn your inner dialogue into a source of strength instead of stress.
Here’s how to do it:
Notice the negative thoughts that often pop up for you before or during a race.
Create a short, powerful counter-statement that boosts your confidence, e.g., “I’m just going to give everything today—there’s nothing more I can do.”
Repeat this line intentionally in the lead-up to and during the race.
Practical example:
Suppose you often catch yourself thinking, “I’m not good enough.” Flip that into a mantra like, “I’m prepared, I’m strong, I’m ready to smash it, there’s nothing more I can do.” By repeating this to yourself, you give your brain a clear focus on confidence and strength. These thoughts also have a direct effect on relaxing your body and mind.
3. Focus on the how instead of the what
A lot of performance anxiety comes from focusing on things you can’t control: how strong your rivals are, what the DS expects, or what result you “have to” deliver. The more attention you give those, the more likely nerves will take over.
The key is to bring your focus back to what you can control. Those are your process goals—concrete actions during the race. Think positioning, fueling and drinking, cornering technique, and how you distribute your energy across phases of the race.
Here’s how to do it:
Before the race, make a short list of 2–3 focus points and stick it on your top tube.
Ask yourself on the start line: How can I give myself the best chance of success today?
Repeat those points during the race, for example while sitting in the bunch, entering a corner, or starting a climb.
Practical example:
Instead of thinking, “I have to get a good result,” focus on how you’ll create that result: “In the first hour I want to be alert for the break; in hours two and three I’ll prioritize saving energy; in the final hour I’ll keep my breathing under control, and in the last 5 km I’ll look for a moment to attack.” That keeps your head calm and your actions sharp.
Conclusion on decreasing competitive anxiety
ChatGPT zei:
Race nerves are part of cycling. In fact, without them you’d never have the extra sharpness you need to perform. The difference lies in how you handle them. By focusing on what you can control, using your breathing deliberately, and strengthening yourself with helpful self-talk, you can turn tension into a weapon and get rid of the competitive anxiety.
Next time you’re nervous on the start line, don’t fight it: your body is primed to perform. It’s up to you to channel that arousal in the right direction.
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