Where consistency of performance is important and measured at pinnacle events, i.e. Olympic Games & World Championship competitions. You will be 0 – 2 years from podium at pinnacle events.

You will demonstrate the ability to:

• Take responsibility for your actions and performance;
• Demonstrate independence of action and thought;
• Consistently deliver world class results & performance at pinnacle events;
• Be focused and work hard to achieve goals;
• Demonstrate the courage to push hard to succeed;
• Consistently make great decisions that improve the position of self and team;
• Deliver technical and tactical skills will ensure you are consistently able to achieve results and performance at pinnacle events;
• Establish realistic performance goals;
• Reflect on performance and move on constructively;
• Demonstrate the ability to work towards long term objectives and to deal with setbacks;
• Be positive role models for aspirational cyclists;
• Be an active learner.

As a rider at the highest level of the sport of cycling, you will have developed the attributes of delivering excellence and have a sound understanding of the role they play in your training and performance. You are familiar with the demands of the environment in which you compete and train and understand how these attributes affect your podium performances.

You will be familiar with the following attributes which are seen as key to delivering excellent performances:

Work Ethic

• Always behave professionally

Professional behaviour means taking pride in your personal appearance, arriving in time to prepare for the session ahead and being courteous to those working with and around you.

• Organisation & High Productivity

Ensure that requested information is delivered in a timely manner with a standard of accuracy and order. Establishing organisational methods that work for you are key to securing your success in future.

• Teamwork & Cooperation

Understand that you are part of something that is bigger than yourself, you are part of a team. Make an effort to cooperate with those in your team and foster opportunities for teamwork where possible.

• Determination to Succeed

To succeed you will need to seek internal motivation, you are in control of the outcome. Search for resources that can help you and try to find remedies to resolve any issues.

• Consistent & High-Quality Work

Strive to succeed with a high standard of professionalism and relish in challenging tasks that enhance your learning. Use the people around you to seek feedback and act on it to improve.

Courage

• Determination

Always perform to the best of your ability. Never lose sight of your goals even under pressure instead use that opportunity to refocus.

• Mastery (Self-Confidence)

Back yourself and be confident in your ability to deliver a skill or perform a desired behaviour. Draw on self-confidence gained by impressive performances, achieving goals and mastering skills.

• Assertiveness

Be assertive and confident in your leadership of others and use your initiative when faced with difficult or potentially hazardous situations.

• Venturesome (Coping with Fear)

Take calculated risks in the pursuit of greater performance. Remember that those who are courageous are not fearless, instead they are people that face difficult or risky situations in spite of their fear. Take your fear and own it.

• Sacrifice (Altruistic Behaviour)

Recognise when others need something more than you and compete even when facing the possibility of defeat.

Grit & Resilience

Demonstrate grit, perseverance and the passion to achieve long-term goals. Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress. Approach achievement as if it were a marathon, where stamina is your advantage. When disappointment or boredom signals to others that it is time to change trajectory and cut losses, put your head down and stay the course.

True resilience won’t happen overnight, it is built up over time through situations and scenarios which will test you and require you to succeed in the face of adversity. Think about how you cope with difficult situations and develop strategies to help you adapt and overcome, building your mental strength and emotional resilience.

Realistic Performance Evaluations and Reflection

Set goals for yourself and create realistic performance expectations. Spend time honestly reviewing and reflecting on your performances and adjust your goals to reflect this.

Coping & Decision Making Under Pressure

Use your experience and draw on available resources to make good decisions even when under pressure. Strive to constantly improve performance outcomes whether that means performing under pressure or training under pressure.

Independent

Be independent and take responsibility for your actions and decisions. Understand that you are in charge of catering to your needs and be considerate of those around you.

Adaptable

Learn to adapt to new and different conditions by making changes in response to the new environment. In the short term this may mean real time changes to events or training whereas long term changes may affect the environment, events & circumstances.

Coachability

Take the opportunities offered by your coaches to learn through feedback and constructive criticism of your performances.

Health Performance Issues

Understanding of WADA, Anti-doping, Athlete Whereabouts

• Access to DFSNZ education material/presentations
• Understanding the role and risks of supplements

Keep all providers in a communication loop – eg network athlete’s key providers

• Importance of a good relationship with athlete’s GP cannot be underestimated
• Look to integrate providers with face to face contact/activities

Training programme demands to match the athlete’s current physical abilities and stage of physical and mental maturation – requires access to knowledgeable and skilled staff

• Specificity of cycling training linked to current racing plan
  • And to future cycling desires
• Importance of adding in arm and leg “impact” training (eg skip rope, jumps, boxing, clap push-ups) for bone development – need appropriate dietary calcium, best to get from dairy products. Where dairy products are not appropriate for your diet, please consult with a dietician.

Work on how to operate effectively when you are uncomfortable and/or stressed

• Plan for this when training loads are high
• Accept and acknowledge this when outside stressors impact on athlete life environment
  • Outside stressors often unpredictable
• NSO to have interviews/sessions specifically aimed at progress in this area
  • Especially before high loading phases and overseas campaigns, to prepare for difficulties, plan to cut down the “outside noise”
  • And after campaigns of what went well

Specific Medical Issues

Athlete’s own medical conditions are well understood and well controlled

Education material around Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)

• Both to the athlete & coaches
• screening

Psychological developments and mental skills training

• Anxiety, tension, uncertainty are all “normal” emotions that need accepting and working “with” rather than fighting/hiding
• Balance team goals with individual goals
• Accepting of different athlete personality behaviors – although these need to conform to the teams “Culture”

HONESTY IS ESSENTIAL AROUND REPORTING OF MEDICAL ISSUES

• One of the biggest challenges is a delay in appropriate treatment

Need early, honest reporting of illness and injury concerns, and mental well-being concerns

Track

• You will be a Carded Level 1 athletes supported by centralised facilities and programmes at the Home of Cycling, Cambridge. International access to facilities and competition that supports development toward pinnacle events.

Road

• As a targeted athlete you will be Carded, supported by their trade teams utilising the team’s facilities and competition that supports development toward pinnacle events. Cycling New Zealand will provide support in support of your trade team.

BMX

• As a targeted athlete you will be Carded, supported by Cycling New Zealand on a campaign basis to access facilities and competition that supports development toward pinnacle events.

MTB

• As a targeted athlete you will be Carded, supported by Cycling New Zealand on a campaign basis to access facilities and competition that supports development toward pinnacle events

The high performance sport environment has been described as dynamic, complex, unpredictable, and at times characterised by chaos. Repeated success in this climate is highly challenging.

Practices will be anchored upon a very clear philosophical standpoint, goals, values and beliefs, which provide a strong sense of purpose and direction with a clear vision of success.

To achieve sustained success requires a ‘high performing’ culture.

Coaches will have a focus on:

• Espousing high expectations and standards to create a self-perpetuating culture of high performance and the pursuit of excellence;
• Being inquisitive, “leave no stone unturned”, seeking elements and trends that may provide an edge. Establish and lead the team to achieve goals;
• Creating a challenging learning environment that establishes healthy, yet “open and fierce internal competition”.
• Constantly reviewing training and competition goals and implement higher goals to avoid complacency and generate fresh motivation”;
• The environment maintains a level of “stability and dependability” to allow all within it to thrive, whilst being mindful that this did not interfere with athlete resilience;
• Understanding the importance of positively influencing upwards in generating the right conditions for the environment to flourish;
• An emphasis on the inter- and intra-personal skills of empathy, persuasiveness, open-mindedness, and self-awareness);
• Being open minded with the ability to be flexible and adapt to the needs of the people and programme;
• Articulate quality information to programme stakeholders in a changing environment;
• Lead the learning process for developing High Performance coaches;
• Seek out and provide clear direction and leadership on technical developments and trends as they develop through the utilisation of critical expertise;
• Clear leadership and instruction on understanding changing trends and implementing strategies into the programme;
• Leadership of the coaching and athletic team;
• Have a strong knowledge of physiology, periodisation and training prescription in the high performance environment;
• Have a strong knowledge of nutrition, S&C, mental skills and other athlete services that enables the coach to lead these disciplines
• Have a great understanding of the process of skill acquisition, understanding gaps and planning improvement;
• Have world class knowledge of the tactical and technical requirements of competition;
• Understanding the rules and techniques of the sport for the high performance environment.