Written in collaboration with Jake Falkinder. Jake is a keen traveler, outdoor enthusiast and content writer for Quipmo.com
We asked a couple of Australia's champion cyclists, each an accomplished Olympian athlete in wildly different facets of our amazing sport, what advice they would give to those wanting to follow in their footsteps. Here’s what our inspiring athletes had to say…
Maeve Plouffe, Olympian Track Cyclist
I am a strong believer that progress is made in times of vulnerability, and that to be the best one needs to put themselves in those uncomfortable positions every day. That means doing training efforts where you completely empty your tank, or racing in events that might be against a field out of your league. Not limiting your performances to the time, placing or power expectations imposed on you by others who think they know what you’re capable of. Consistency is also key. It isn’t enough to be performing for one day or week or month at a time; you need to be applying yourself day in day out for months and even years to see progress. I never felt like I was naturally gifted in my sport, it was years of not necessarily winning races but still turning up every day to train with that dream close to my chest which got me to where I am now.
Natalya Diehm, Olympian Freestyle BMX
It’s nothing we all haven’t heard before…. It takes hard work and dedication and the secret sauce is love. You have to love what you’re doing in order to be the best you can be. If you don’t love it or have fun then you won’t put in the time, effort, patience and dedication you need for a successful career. There will be hard times and maybe weeks that feel like there were more bad than good days so having a good support crew will always help clear your mind and reset to get ready and stay positive for the next day to come. Always credit the small wins and remind yourself of where you started because you’ll always be chasing a goal or that next new trick that you can quickly forget how much you’ve progressed when you’re fighting your way to the top. STAY POSITIVE AND HAVE FUN!
