There will no doubt have been times in your cycling history when bad habits have dragged down your form and fitness – switching off the alarm you’d set to wake you up for training, not preparing your bike the night before, eating larger-than-necessary portions, and so on.
But, while bad habits are arguably easier to form than good ones, they can still be corrected, giving you the potential to soar to new heights.
We’ve delved into our contacts book to consult some of the most successful cyclists and discover the good habits that have shaped their careers – and can help you smash your goals.
Monitor your training data like Dame Sarah Storey
“Tracking and analysing your training is a really good habit to get into,” says Britain’s most decorated Paralympian.
“My own success has been founded on using scientific, logical processes to make myself faster. Unless you know where you’re at, where you’ve been and where you want to go, you won’t get there.
“Uploading your ride data, monitoring your progress and seeing how you can improve will help you tick off the process goals that make [achieving] bigger goals possible.
“Monitoring your power, cadence, speed and distances over time will make your training easier to quantify, [and will mean you know what speed and cadence you can ride at].
"Every time I’m training on my bike, I see it as a rehearsal for competition.”
Surround yourself with positive people like Katy Marchant does
“We all have our down days when we could happily lie in bed all day, but the people we’re surrounded by help us to get through that.
“That’s why it’s so good to train as a group,” the 2024 Olympic team sprint gold medallist explains.
She particularly enjoys the atmosphere at her local track centre.
“It’s never quiet – we’re always listening to music or talking about the efforts we’ve just done,” she says.
“We’re highly competitive but we pull each other along and there’s always someone to talk to. You also get to have normal chats, about going out or baking.
“If you spend a lot of time training hard, you want to surround yourself with people who pick you up and support you.”
Prep your meals for the week like Hayley Simmonds
“I perform at my best when I plan things in advance,” says the record-breaking time trialist.
“As soon as I have my training sessions lined up for the week, I start planning my meals. I like to know what my nutrition strategy will be every day.
“Before intervals or a morning race, I’ll opt for porridge with full-fat milk, Greek yoghurt, mango and honey.
“If I have an afternoon race, I might go for sourdough bagels with sliced chicken and avocado for lunch.
“For dinner before a race, I’ll have turkey and basmati rice – it’s easy to digest. And if I’m having a rest day, it might just be chicken with green veg.
“The amount of carbs depends on what training I’m doing the following day.
“If I have a rest day, I might just eat eggs with salad, but if I have intervals, I might choose rice noodles with fish and veg.”
That strategy goes for racing too.
“For time trials, I’ll have caffeine 45 minutes before the race and a gel 25 minutes before,” Simmonds says.
“For road races, I carry energy chews and gels. I never try new things on race day. Not having to make decisions about food reduces the stress and allows me to focus.”
Do regular off-bike workouts like Elinor Barker
“I do a lot of gym and core work off the bike, and it’s helped me avoid injuries and perform at my best,” says the Welsh road and track star.
“At the gym, I do two or three structural lifts [per session] to build lower-body strength.
“They tend to be leg presses, Bulgarian split squats and classic squats, deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts. I also do upper-body and neck exercises, which help me to hold my aerodynamic position.”
Barker uses planks, yoga and pilates to build and maintain core strength.
“Core work is as much to do with power output as avoiding injury,” she says.
“It’s important for cyclists to do different holds, pushes, pulls and twists that strengthen in different ways.”
What if you aren’t able to visit the gym? “It’s worth making the time for a bit of [training], even if it’s for half an hour at home, twice a week, or just following some YouTube videos,” says Barker. “It’s a really good habit to get into.”