The setback isn't the problem; our reaction is

Thunderstorms. Wind. Wildfires. Mechanicals. Going off course. Dropping a water bottle. Race start delays. Cramping. Crashing.

In my 20+ years of mental training, I have heard countless stories of setbacks my athletes have encountered. If you are privileged enough to call yourself an athlete for long enough, there's a good chance you're going to have a moment when you get temporarily derailed. Setbacks during training and setbacks on race day are frustrating, but they aren't necessarily an ending. Sometimes we are the biggest factor in how far back it sets us back.

Here's the truth: it's not the setback itself that derails most cyclists. It's what happens in the ten seconds after it.

When something unexpected hits, the brain goes into a little bit of denial; it resists the new reality so hard that the resistance itself is what keeps us stuck. I call it "fighting against reality." Researchers call it status quo bias. When we're given a choice between what we already know and something new, we tend to stick with the familiar, even when the new option is better. Our brains are wired to protect the status quo, because the status quo feels safe, and the unknown never does. The unknown can be exciting and full of opportunity, but it is not the "safe" option for our central nervous system.

Imagine you're headed down a particular road when an unexpected obstacle gets thrown in your path that you have to adjust for. It doesn't feel like there is a choice to be made, but there still is. It's good to recognize that the resistance we feel isn't a flaw, but rather a normal and predictable bias. Once we understand this, it's easier to work with and push through the discomfort instead of getting stuck in it.

The goal is to make sure a setback stays a setback instead of snowballing into something bigger.

Preparing for it doesn't make it happen.

I want to be clear about something, because I hear this concern a lot. Thinking through what could go wrong doesn't jinx us, and it doesn't magically manifest a mechanical or a bad day.

If you balked at that sentence, I want you to read it again, and this time read it out loud.

Thinking about possible setbacks we may encounter puts us in the driver's seat if and when they happen. This is called mental contrasting, and it's simple to do: picture the outcome you want, then picture the specific obstacle that could get in the way, not to dwell on it, but to rehearse your response to it before you ever need it. A rider who's mentally rehearsed what to do she flats on the descent isn't more likely to flat; she's just not going to lose ten minutes to panic when it happens.

Preparation isn't pessimism; it's confidence with a plan attached. We feel more confident in our ability to handle a difficult situation when we've prepared ourselves to handle that situation. We don't feel more confident by avoiding the thought. Preparing for setbacks doesn't make a setback happen; it ensures we're ready if and when it does.

When it happens anyway: Regroup, reset, recommit.

This is the part that matters most, because a setback is only the first domino. What determines whether the rest of the dominoes topple over is the next sixty seconds of our thinking. When something goes sideways, use the mantra of the 3 Rs:

Regroup. Reset. Recommit.

Regroup

Get it together. Take a beat and shake it off. This is not the moment to problem-solve; it's the moment to hit the pause button and stop the spiral.

Reset

Get grounded. Stop resisting and accept that the setback happened. Take a breath and reengage.

Recommit.

Get after it. Remind yourself why you're out here in the first place. Then ask one question: That didn't go how I wanted; what do I want to do next? That question moves us out of the story about what went wrong and into the next decision in front of us.

This is a trainable skill, not a personality trait.

Some riders seem naturally more resilient, and personality can play a role, but the ability to stay committed, to believe you can influence what's in front of you and see a hard moment as a normal part of the sport rather than a threat—that can be trained. It's called hardiness, and like your FTP, it responds to training.

We don't wait until race day to test our legs for the first time, so let's not wait until the setback to test our minds. Rehearse the moment. Know the three Rs. And the next time the road throws something at you (because it will), you'll already know exactly how to get back to pedaling forward.

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