October, and racers are working to put that final exclamation point on their season. For some this means they are on the cusp of a well deserved break from the arduous training and structure that has defined their summer. For others it is the start of the fitness ramp towards cyclocross! Either way your season is in transition, so what should you do to make the most of the coming weeks?

As the rush of the Olympics slips away it’s easy to forget the detail and attention that goes into each performance. Watching elite athletes is always inspiring and while we often try to emulate their drive and focus in our own workouts and races, it’s easy to forget some of the big and small things that make up a groundbreaking performance.

It started last year, or the year before. You’ve spent months preparing mentally, endless hours physically, all building towards THIS EVENT, this focus. Or maybe it’s just a Saturday and you went racing. Either way the let down and psychological weight of a sub-par performance can be a slippery slope, so what can you do to move forward?

Classics season is a showcase of talent. From Flanders to Liege we have a four week window into what it means to be the best in the World. In addition to the obvious physical gifts, there are individual and personality traits that have helped these riders reach such lofty heights. Let’s look at the role of personality in performance.

Training and performance are often referenced as points on a continuum. Each day you begin your training at a certain level of freshness and fitness intent on achieving the most bang for your training buck. But are you shooting fish in a barrel or shooting yourself in the foot?

We cyclists and cycling fans live in a torrent of information. We can read websites and magazines, watch television and internet coverage, and listen to podcasts seemingly all day, on all manner of cycling related topics. The challenge, as with the rest of life, is to parse out the high quality, good information from the bad.

With September comes the end of most road racing, the start of the cyclocross season, and the transitions that accompany both. The start of school is another inevitable part of the transition to fall so let’s take a few minutes to review our “R’s”…

Every year we get to watch the rise of talent on the professional scene. From new riders who seem to rise from obscurity to greatness before our eyes, to those we’ve watched toil and grow for years who finally break through to a new level. Each is inspiring and it’s easy to forget that, in truth, these riders have all paid their dues to the sport. Sometimes it’s nice to see the starting point of the journey too…

As the Tour De France rolls into the second week, and the racing continues to take it’s toll on the riders, one can’t help but wonder how these athletes are able to prepare and compete at such a high level.We all want to ride faster, race smarter, and see continual improvement, but what are the best ways to achieve these goals? We decided to ask the experts what they think…