TASMANIAN cyclist Amy Cure has turned to fashion magazine Vogue to explain how she deals with the stresses of elite competition.
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“Stress is a big thing when it comes to race day and preparation for your race,” the 23-year-old told the magazine.
“It is always a super stressful and nervous day. This is a great thing when it is controlled.”
The West Pine world champion recommends music to help clear the mind, saying she listens to “pump up music” before races and relaxing music afterwards to unwind.
“When my headphones go on, this is my body telling me it’s race time. I will listen to my music [throughout] my whole warm up and take them off five minutes before I go up to that start line. This is how I get my body ready for racing.”
Cure will contest the team pursuit in Rio de Janeiro with fellow Tasmanian Georgia Baker, Ashlee Ankudinoff (NSW), Annette Edmondson (SA) and Melissa Hoskins (WA).
She said she also recites simple mantras in her head before racing.
“The first thing is a sentence that I fully believe in, something that never changes: ‘I have done all the hard work, I’ve given 100 percent in my training, no matter what the result is, that’s all I can ask from myself’,” she said.
“The next thing is when I’m walking up to that start line I go over one or two things I need to concentrate more on.”
Cure is training up to six hours a day in California preparing for her second Olympic Games.