Happy head, happy legs…

WORDS: REBECCA BLAND
IMAGES: HONOR ELLIOTT

‘Happy head, happy legs…’

It's a phrase we're beginning to hear more of in the world of cycling. Professional athletes once conditioned to believe that suffering was good, in fact, the more suffering the better, are now realising that your mental state can have a profound effect on performance. But how do you protect your mental wellbeing while being a professional athlete in a sport that is known for its praise of punishment? It starts at home, at the team. 

Lizzie Holden initially rode with Le Col - Wahoo from 2017 to 2019, but re-signed with the team late last year for the 2022 season. It was a homecoming, of sorts, to the place where she began her professional cycling career. In 2021 she contracted Covid-19 and unfortunately, this wiped out nearly half of her season. 2022 was a new start in a new-but-old team.

“I left the team in 2019, only out of uncertainty of their future. At that moment all I thought was important was having race days, and I almost disregarded other aspects of what I needed to succeed or wasn't aware of what they were.

“2021 was a really difficult year for me personally, and I lost a lot of enjoyment for racing. Already by March 2021, I remember having thoughts that this would potentially be my last year as I couldn't see myself carrying on. I was at the races, but wanted to be anywhere but there.”

And then came the Covid-19 positive. 

“When I caught Covid in July during the Giro, it took me almost two months to fully recover and I wasn’t able to race for the remainder of the year. After speaking to multiple people through this period, I realised the main thing I needed was the enjoyment of racing and training again. After all, cycling is hard enough, so when you're not enjoying it and your head isn't in it, it’s even harder. I knew that I had this environment whilst riding for Drops [the former name of Le Col - Wahoo] in the past and that motivated me to push for a place in the team."

Taking the pressure off a rider and allowing them to find their feet again in racing can be just what they need to re-find their form. Lizzie has already proven that by finishing ninth overall at the EasyToys Bloeizone Fryslân Tour, 18th in the prestigious Amstel Gold Race and helping the team to achieve top-five finishes in Nokere Koerse and Le Samyn des Dames.

“If you’d have told me back in December, or even right before Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, that I’d be consistently making the front group in races, achieving top 10 results personally and also as a team, I definitely wouldn’t have believed you. I’m over the moon with how the start of the season has gone and looking forward to what else is to come!”

Let’s not forget that road cycling is a team sport, and that there are many goals to be achieved within a race. Goal setting doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘to win’. Instead, it could be a team placing, to form a breakaway and put the pressure on the peloton, to set your teammates up and position them well in key moments. Every rider has a role to play in the complex nature of cycling, and that is one reason that makes it so fascinating to watch, let alone be a part of. 

One of the key reasons Lizzie cites for her return to form is the team environment. The importance of this can be undervalued, but when you have to spend anywhere up to months at a time with a group of people, it’s vital you all respect and understand each other.

“[There have been] a lot of races early on meaning that we've spent a lot of time together in the team house in Belgium. Everyone respects each other's different personalities and we understand that everyone has different needs, which helps with the atmosphere and not feeling like we're getting on top of each other. 

“It can sometimes feel like a lot, always being around the race environment, even when you’re not racing, but I think everyone understands this and we try to include other ‘normal’ things like getting out for a coffee, watching movies together or even doing a supermarket shop and cooking dinner for everyone. Everyone on the team always seems to be very positive too and there’s always a good vibe accompanied by some Dutch Europop… which helps keep the morale high!”

For Lizzie, returning to Le Col - Wahoo was something she did, not out of nostalgia, but because of the supportive environment that the staff have worked hard to produce. After a year of setbacks, which ended with another Covid positive in February this year, she's begun to find the balance to enable her to achieve the elusive 'happy head = happy legs'.

“I had a really solid winter with help from my coach, Andrew Roche, and a solid training camp in December with the team. My only setback was missing the second team training camp in February due to another Covid positive. I had some specific training days in the run-up of course, but an important focus for me this winter was to keep things fun by mixing up different forms of training, from sign sprints on bunch rides, mountain biking, gym training, running, anything I felt like!”

Lizzie is being careful not to overload her body – or her brain – too soon. 

“I have a big block of racing planned early on in the season. Trying to find the balance between keeping on top of training in between races and also staying fresh, both mentally and physically, can sometimes be tricky, but I think it's been ideal so far. I've had different goals for different races so that I can focus and prepare 100% for the races I want to target."

With the success she’s had so quickly after her second bout of Covid, consistently finishing in the front group in WWT races, and top 20 results, Lizzie can now look to the rest of her season and plan her big goals.

“The riders and staff are really positive towards every race we go into. We might not be WorldTour, but I think the way we plan and go into each race is motivating and makes you believe in yourself and the team. This makes a huge difference to the way you race."

This confidence gained simply from being in a supportive atmosphere has not only encouraged results at the pointy end of some of the biggest Spring Classics, but has allowed Lizzie to start planning for the year ahead with a vigour she had previously lost.

“Going forward I can set goals that in December I didn't think I would've imagined setting this year. I think the confidence is slowly growing from race to race, and now as a team, we can focus on the smaller details. Looking ahead to my last few races of this Spring block, I'm going in to target these and hopefully come away with a strong result. I love attritional races and enjoy racing aggressively, so I'm very excited for them."

Whatever the rest of the season holds for Lizzie, the most important thing is that she's rediscovered her love of the sport. While nice, big results are more of the icing on the cake, and for her to be succeeding so early on in the season demonstrates just how important it is to be in the right environment. Having the right people around you supporting your goals is vital to success, in whatever ways you choose to measure it.   

Lizzie will be in action at Liège-Bastogne-Liège this Sunday.