I hope you enjoyed.
Welcome everybody.
We're presenting three panel sessions here today, this being the first of three obviously.
The first one today we're going to be focusing on what happens before the race, what happens
in the preparation to a big cycling race.
So we might get started straight away, we've only got about 20-25 minutes until the Peloton
come through for their first pass up here at Arthur's Seat.
Dave let's go to you first.
There's a bit of a perception that sports psychology is all about whispering a couple
of magic words in the ears of elite athletes and somehow making them perform a little bit
better.
How close is that to reality and what's involved in your role as a sports psychologist?
Good question Matt, it's about as close to reality as we are to Melbourne, it's a long
long way.
If we could do that, if we could whisper magical things in the ears of the best riders then
I'd be retired on a yacht somewhere out in the Bahamas.
Really what we do is we actually work with the athlete to try and understand their world
and the things that may be holding them back from riding at the usual capacity that they
ride at, if we're talking about cycling as we are today and it's not a case of whispering
anything magical at all but rather a case of listening very intently and trying to understand
as best as possible to try and find some solutions together that they can put into place very
practical strategies to help them in their training which is actually what makes them
ride fast.
It's the training that makes them ride fast and not the words that come from the mouth
of the sports psychologist although sometimes you get lucky and the cyclist may feel like
you said something that just help them find their way through that particular tough spot.
I bet you're happy to take credit for that as well.
Absolutely.
Never shy away from it.
Phil, let's go to you.
In the late 70s you packed up and moved to Europe to try your hand at professional cycling
over there.
Did sports psychology as a discipline exist back then or who did you go to with concerns
about how you were feeling or how you were adjusting to life over in Europe?
No, we didn't have much support in that regard back then.
I mean now there's Institute of Sports, there's Academy of Sports with a full range
of facilities to assist the young athlete in that way.
Unfortunately we didn't have that back then, I was just a member of a club in Melbourne
and yeah we just didn't have that kind of support.
I think there are very few riders riding at the elite level in Europe when I got over
there.
There's quite a few riders giving a go in the Kermesse scene and the circuit races in
Belgium and a few scattered around France and Italy but yeah already to make it to that
level they had to be mentally and physically pretty tough just to leave Australia.
So Dave what is it that sets a sports psychologist apart from say a partner or friend or whatever
it is of a cyclist or any athlete that goes over and tries something new?
What can you bring that someone just listening to somebody about what they're going through
can't bring?
Yeah well I guess the thing that differentiates us from a loving partner or coach or friend
or whatever the case may be is the relationship is one based on confidentiality and not being
non-judgmental and sometimes when we're talking to a partner or a close friend there may be
things that we really don't want to say or don't feel comfortable in saying because it
can change the dynamics between us not all the time but sometimes and really it's our
job to bring out our skill set of not only hearing the things that they do say but for
listening to the things that they don't say and trying to connect that together with the
picture that they're giving us of their world to link that with things that may be hurting
them but also things that are helping them for when they're going good it's not always
about going bad so I guess we're in a really privileged position a special relationship
to hear the most intimate stories fears and stuff from athletes that aren't always easy
to express to our friends because sometimes it can be seen as a sign of weakness again
not always but these are the common things that we tend to say.
Let's talk a little bit about how you'd go about preparing yourself psychologically for
an event such as the Jacob Harold Sun Tour or the Tour de France.
Gary part of your job is to work with cyclists on their bike setup as a sports physiotherapist
to ensure comfort, efficiency and proper technique.
How important is that sort of preparation in preparing somebody psychologically as well
as physically for an event such as this?
Well by the time that most of these cyclists get to the start line their setup is pretty
well entrenched however little niggles happen to everybody and these guys aren't just preparing
for this race they're preparing for several stages they're preparing for several races
throughout the year so very rarely does anyone get to the start line in absolutely fantastic
conditions.
The role of the physio is actually about making sure that that cyclist at that time can actually
sit on the bike and behave as the human machine for those pedals and so it's not so much just
about bike setup it's actually about the person and maximising their ability to work as a machine.
So physios work in terms of exercise, strength, flexibility, control and work with sports
science people to make sure that that person has recovered well so that they can do the
job.
So setup is more than just the bike it's also about the person.
How much refinement Gary would you be doing with a cyclist during an event like this or
in a longer event such as the Tour de France over three weeks how much adjustment to position
and setup would you be doing or is there other things you'd be more focused on doing?
Well as we were saying that each rider gets to the start line of each stage or each event
carrying a little bit of a niggle and assessment of those injuries might mean that for instance
they would be developing pain most commonly in the back and let's say someone's carrying
a bit of a back injury and they're in a situation where they've got to be in a very cramped position
pouring in a lot of power for a prolonged period then that pain might be something that
interferes with their performance.
So you'd assess the rider on that day well knowing what their past history is and perhaps
modify the setup a little bit so that they will be more comfortable for a longer period
and it might mean that we actually have to go in with a bit of a different race plan
that this rider will actually have to get out of the saddle every so often rather and
have a bit of a stretch just to make sure that during those crucial passes and in those
crucial efforts that pain isn't playing on their mind.
They've all learned to suffer and that's what these guys know how to do but what they
don't want to be suffering is pain from another source other than their muscles.
A big part of psychological preparation for a big race I assume also comes in overcoming
nerves anxiety and the unknowns and Phil I want to throw back to you here I wonder if
you could tell us a little bit about what it was like approaching your first Tour de
France back in 1981 if I'm not mistaken what was the biggest psychological challenge for
you coming into that race?
I think possibly making sure I didn't let the team down I was on a French team and I
was the only non-French rider on the team and my job was there as a domestic you know
making sure that my teammates got plenty of drink and if they need to go to the bathroom
that they'll push while we were going along I didn't let them down in that department.
All the good jobs then?
All the good jobs yeah that's where the domestic name comes from but also making sure our team
leaders were kept out of the wind and arrived at the crucial spots as fresh as possible
so then quite a bit of working on the front but that was a bit of an historic time because
of course my first Tour de France I got the yellow jersey so things sort of changed my
role on the team by about day five but yeah it's a bit daunting going into the event
you know it's a different period of time now of course we can click on the television and
see live coverage every day and you know there's you know numerous websites you can get live
feed you know so we're quite educated everybody knows what's going on in the Tour de France
back then you know I was desperate for information to find out what it was all about this is
before I went over this so it's completely different now I think a rider heading over
to Europe it's possibly more they'd be more fearful because they know what what to expect
when I first went over there I had no idea what I was embarking upon you know but I did
reasonably well when I was over there maybe it was because I was naive and had no idea
what I was getting into what was it like the second time round obviously you've finished
the Tour the first time that you've attempted you've done as you said very well what's it
like then coming back for the second time knowing a little bit about what the event entails
the red right boys looking very fresh okay round two what was it like the second time
round the Tour de France having done it once already yeah I mean it's like doing anything
for the second time having done it reasonably well the first time I was a lot more confident
had didn't have any fear of you know you don't have to concern yourself about finishing the
event it's more about you know how you can place in the event and you know I finished
in the top 10 the first Tour and so it was it was being able to do the same if not better
I got in the yellow jersey on day two and so I was already you know it achieved my goal
early on and it was just a matter of defending that and I ended up getting the young riders
jersey that year and you know established myself as a you know as a potential winner
of the Tour down the track as a more mature rider but you know I think coming into the
Tour that that year after doing what I did in the first year I had no fears I didn't
have any qualms about you know the event itself but I just again I just didn't want to let
my team down and and you know if you have the yellow jersey it puts a lot of pressure
on you and and you know I still wanted to you know fairer the third week you know as
well as I did in the first and and I achieved that and you know I was happy but you know
my career was obviously taking a fresh direction. Dave say you're on Phil's team it was part
of his team at his first Tour de France what do you what do you say to Phil do you go and
approach him you look you know he looks like maybe he's he's struggling a little bit first
year in the Tour de France do you approach him or do you wait for him to come to you
what's what's your position there. To be honest you know I don't I don't approach
the athletes and profess to be able to see something that's going on for them depending
on the nature of your relationship some athletes will invite you to do that some riders I've
worked with and said come and come and talk to me if you see anything at all that looks
untoward and but very rarely would I ever go if if at all ever go up and say well you
know Phil you look nervous particularly if I was lucky enough to be in that situation
it's kind of like being asked to tune up a Ferrari you just go and rub the bonnet with
a little bit of a cloth and say okay I'll leave it alone. I would actually in answer
that I would wait for the athlete to come and see me because oftentimes it's it's worth
thinking about what happens in the athlete's mind if you start walking over there do they
start thinking always there's something wrong with me at a time where they really don't
need to be thinking about that so it's really worth taking into consideration the relationship
you have with the athlete and oftentimes it'll be more the coach that probably goes over
and says something depending on what team setup they have but yeah generally in case
of waiting for the athlete to speak to you. Gary I might just throw to you quickly there
I want to talk a little bit about superstitions and preparations and rituals and all that
kind of thing a lot of sports people have these little things that they do it might
be putting on one sock first or it might be you know a little dance they do beforehand
or whatever it might be what sort of role do you reckon this plays in sort of preparing
somebody for an eraser or an event. That's a good question I think I'll have to think
about that for a little while myself and rub my lucky socks but yeah I see plenty of cyclists
who have their lucky pair of socks their lucky pair of nicks but each athlete and it doesn't
matter whether on a cycling or football they do have a pre-race or a pre-event routine
that they go through. A lot of people go through as far as I'm concerned they will go through
not only a ride through the course for instance but they'll do their own stretching. Everything
wants to basically confirm to them that they are doing everything right as it happened
on the best ride I ever had and so I think they are important little rituals they also
want to know from their body that they are going to be able to get the most out of it
on that day that's actually most important for them so a lot of them will actually do
a routine of stretching might go through a little bit of a ride sit on the rollers make
sure that those legs are able to spin and spin comfortably so they can get to that line
with as much confidence and get on a roll. We've only got a couple of minutes left here
but I think I might throw back to Phil. Talk a little bit about pressure and expectations
here and obviously Cadelle Evans going into this year's Tour de France is one of the favourites
if not their favourite and of course he came away with the victory in fantastic style that
none of us will ever forget I suppose but how do you withstand that sort of expectation
and the pressure going into a big event like that Phil do you feel it as a cyclist that
sort of pressure? Yeah no you do I mean a rider puts pressure on himself I think a top
rider should put pressure on himself you know I don't think it should be the people around
him I think there's an expect you know whenever there's an expectation if you're a team leader
or a you know potential winner of an event it's up to yourself to put pressure on yourself
but I think you need to be coached in that you know it's a bit different with young
kids or something like that where you're just trying to keep them motivated all the time
I think you know Cadelle has you know been favourite for a few years now in the Tour
de France and you know he doesn't need to be reminded it's not like you know you see
the kids down at Oz kick you know with the parents sitting on the fence going you know
they go Johnny do you know get up the kid you know Cadelle knew what to do.
