THE 6 PILLARS OF PERFORMANCE SUPPORT

For the pros, peak performance is underpinned by an elaborate support structure. Josephine Perry considers how amateurs can pick and choose the key buttresses

- Josephine Perry

Let's assume you are already training as hard and as often as you possibly can given your ability and available time. What else can you do to support your performance and become a better cyclist? First and foremost, you could upgrade your bike and hire a coach - the two quickest and easiest options. Provided you have a healthy bank balance, a well-qualified coach and a speedy steed are just a few clicks away. But in doing so, would you be focusing on the right things and getting maximum bang for your buck?

Josie Knight, current world champion in the team pursuit, is clear where her priorities would lie. "I always joke that my psychologist and physio are the two most important people in my career. You can train as hard as you can every day and maybe add a couple of watts, but there is so much more to work on with your position, your mental approach and making your body physically able to do it all." Knight credits her physio Katie Flatters for keeping her injuryfree and her psychologist Rich Hampson for keeping her head healthy.

As a member of the GB Cycling Team, Knight has six pillars of performance support available to her. Who would you want on your team to get you reaching your potential? And how can you create your own DIY versions of the six pillars?

1 Positional optimisation 

PRO PREP: Having biomechanist Deborah Newton and aerodynamicist Chris Hebert on your side, and a wind tunnel and biomechanics lab available to use whenever you need them, is a privileged place to be. In the last year, 121 members of the GB team have had positional sessions on either track, tandem, road and trike bikes, and there have been 27 equipment development sessions. One of these athletes was firstyear elite rider Josh Tarling, who made a big splash when he took bronze in the 2023 World Championships time trial and won the European Champs TT.