WORDS DOMINIC SANDERS ILLUSTRATION KEVIN FEBRUARY
Mentaltoughness EXPERT ADVICE
For cyclists, fear comes in many forms – fear of descents, fear of injury, fear of failure, fear of disappointment, fear of pain. The list goes on and on, but the one thing that’s common to all of them is the idea of projection. Or, in other words, imagining a scenario where one of those dreadful outcomes actually occurs. Fear in that sense can be seen as an emotional response to a perceived threat. And while it might be founded in some deeply recessed psychological survival mechanism – one that causes us to run, hide or freeze to avoid that perceived threat – fear is, by its nature, deeply stifling. But that doesn’t mean to say you can’t do something about it, in fact with a little practise and the right tools, fear is something that can be easily managed.