The psychology of big climbs: What’s going on in the mind of Tour de France cyclists and what we can learn from this?

What do professional cyclists think when they approach a climb?

This depends on how they perceive their climbing ability, the challenge of the upcoming climb, the importance of their performance on this climb and their current sense of fatigue. If they perceive that they have the skills to do well on the climb, based on the gradient and length of the climb and the relative abilities of others, then they will approach with confidence. If instead, they believe that they don’t have that great an ability, then they may have some anxiety, trepidation, and worry with thoughts along the lines of: “This is going to hurt.” “I’m not good at this.” “I’ll get dropped.”

So, how would a good climber approach a climb? 

A confident rider approaches feeling calmer, more ready for the challenge, perhaps even welcoming and relishing it. They see it as a good test or a good part of the course. They may be thinking along the lines of: “Yeah, here it comes. Bring it on. This is my terrain. I’m love this challenge. I’m going to make the other riders hurt.”

Is a rider’s climbing confidence simply linked to their climbing ability? 

To a degree, but confidence and perceived ability is not exactly linked with actual ability. You can be over or under-confident in your climbing ability – as you can be with any other ability.

How can professionals, and non-professionals, train to be more psychologically prepared for climbs and become a better climber? This depends on the rider’s perceived ability on climbs – are short and sharp climbs, moderate climbs, or long climbs those which are most dreaded, feared or bringing unease? Then, the clever riders will go out and train on these climbs, to learn how to physically and mentally ride them, gathering useful experience that they can take into races or training rides. The rider can also imagine climbing, how they will pace it, how they will feel, what they want to think (e.g., to welcome the discomfort, to encourage themselves).