We spend 5 minutes with Podium Sprint Squat rider, Katy Marchant. Katy talks us through the differences between race day and a normal training day and how she deals with nerves before a big event. How does your preparation for a competition differ from a normal training day? Being an elite athlete, nutrition is our fuel. We always make sure we are well fuelled whether that’s on a training or competition day and adapt our nutrition around the training we are doing. What are the key differences between your nutrition doing into/at a competition and when you are training? I always make sure I have a really good meal the night before a competition. Lots of carbs and energy. I often struggle on race day to get the food in, so I have a lot of Science in Sport energy gels and caffeine gels. My favourite is the citrus caffeine gel! How do you deal with nerves going into a major event? We have a great team around us and work with our psychologist all year round to practice different strategies for race day. I either listen to music or chat away with people around or the coaches to keep my mind occupied. Do you feel the difference competing on home soil over being abroad? You get a massive buzz when competing at home because of the support and crowds at the races. However, it does sometimes add to the pressure when performing. Do you enjoy your training or competing more and why? I absolutely love training. But I wouldn’t be able to do the training without the competitions because I feel I need the goals to help me keep progressing and achieving. Written By Science in Sport
