Keep calm before MTB races: The top 5 mental tips from world champion Vali Höll

Downhill super talent Valentina Höll won the rainbow jersey in her second elite season in 2022 and the first ever Austrian downhill world champion title in the elite category - after the junior world championship titles in 2018 and 2019. In between were two of the "unhappiest" years in her life, as she says. Two years in which best times were followed by crashes and tumult followed by triumph. In 2023, she went one better and became world champion again.

The still young Vali Höll gets to know the dark side of life as a professional athlete: Pressure to perform, missed opportunities, head cinema. But she found her rhythm again and grew up here, in the glaring spotlight of the World Cup circus. Today, she keeps her cool even in the constant stress of downhill races. How does she do it? Vali Höll tells us here.

Stay calm: Vali's top 5 mental tips to combat anxiety in your head

1. lucky charm

I'm not superstitious, but I've had a lucky charm since my first race in Winterberg in 2013. A smiley sticker on my helmet or on my bike. It has often changed over the years, but it remains.

2nd team in the back

You have to have the right people around you. I want to feel one hundred per cent comfortable, which is why people I trust are important to me. My confidant is Gregg, he's our team physio and also a bit of a psychologist for me.

3. routine brings you down

I'm a routine person, I always start my warm-up on time. I put my helmet on exactly ten minutes before the start and my goggles one minute before. That gives me security, structure and calm.

4. music always helps

Music is very important to me, there are only a few hours a day when I don't listen to music. I change my playlist depending on what I need at the time. I have everything from happy songs to rock to an Italy playlist. There is no particular song that I listen to before the race run.

5. control your breath

I've tried a few breathing exercises over the years. Especially the night before the race, I try to calm myself down as I fall asleep when I realise I'm getting nervous. I do the same before the start. The breathing technique is called box breathing and consists of four equal breathing phases, each of which has the same duration.

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