We asked one of our superstar members of the Specialized-lululemon cycling team to share with us what is going through her mind at the beginning of yet-another busy season of racing. Meet Gillian Carleton, a track cyclist from Victoria B.C. who we think is just the cat's pyjamas (she also has the best hair ever!)

the road ahead: an action-packed 2013

As I write this, I'm packing (yet again) for a race. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the 2013 race season, and I'm more than a bit anxious about it. After such an exciting year filled with so many new experiences, thousands of international travel miles, and a fair amount of (good) stress, I feel like I'm being dragged kicking and screaming out the end of this off-season. Just one more week, please!

To be fair, my schedule has been picking up already for a month now. Just last week I returned to B.C. after a very successful first training camp in sunny Portugal with my new team, Specialized-lululemon. As 2013 will be my first professional road season and I'm coming into the whole thing as a bit of a novice, I admit I was quite nervous to start training with my new teammates, most of whom I had never met before! However, my fears were quickly laid to rest by the end of the first day. There's a reason that Specialized-lululemon is the most successful women's team in the world - the staff, riders, and sponsors are hand-picked from the best, and they all bring something unique and important to the table. I am so incredibly excited to contribute to that tradition of excellence in the next year.

However, with excellence comes expectations. both internal and external. I am so proud of what I've accomplished in my short career, but I'm well aware that the bar has been raised for next year, and the next four years. Hence my desire for a just a few more days away from it all, a desire that I'm sure is shared by many.

This year, it is my personal goal to acknowledge these feelings; acknowledge and accept that I am human and that it is normal to feel nervous about things that matter.

By end of day tomorrow, after 100+ laps at breakneck speed on the velodrome, any anxiety I may have inwardly harboured will be gone. I'm a professional athlete, and in my heart there is really nothing I love more than competition....and honestly, there's no head space left for self-doubt anyway when I'm pushing myself harder than ever before.

What are the little things you try to achieve that accompany the big goals you are accomplishing? Is it appreciating the little moments? Embracing failure? Share with us what small things you concentrate on while climbing your proverbial "goal mountains".

In March we rolled up our yoga mats and travelled to Belgium (via Amsterdam) to support Team Specialized-lululemon at one of the most epic cycling races ever, the Tour of Flanders. Flanders is known as epic because of its 100-year history and course full of climbs on uneven, slippery cobblestones.

Two days before the race, I taught a yoga class to the team. I tried to imagine I was a pro cyclist pre-epic race, and put together a class to relax nerves and gently stretch cycling muscles, with a playlist that’d ensure our little carpeted hotel meeting room / temporary yoga space would be bumping. Without further ado, here are the reasons that yoga makes you a more badass cyclist:

1. oxygen chills you out

We started with a deep breathing exercise that you can do anywhere at any time you feel a little stressed. (Just between you, me, and the internet - I sometimes do this exercise on the plane during turbulence). Inhale, counting slowly to 4. Hold at the top for the same amount of time, and then exhale slowly for 4. Make this next level by doing it with alternate nostrils using your hand (– and in case you’re wondering, you can get away with this version in the air without looking too crazy), and repeat for 3-4 minutes.

Deep breathing triggers your parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body and mind. It also helps bring oxygen to cells so that the detoxification process can occur. You’re going to need as many relaxed and oxygenated cells as possible if you’re about to take on a climb like the Oude Kwaremont.

2. dear quads, are you there? it’s me, yoga!

How do you thank your quadriceps and hamstrings for powering you on the bike? You give them some love back on the mat, as well as the body parts that support your legs bigtime, like your hip flexors and groin. Watch these how-tos from our ambassador, Ted McDonald:

Lengthen your hamstrings >>
Stretch your quads and psoas >>
Thank your inner hips and groin >>

3. it’s all mental

Here’s a little well-known yoga secret: yoga poses are sometimes ridiculously hard so that all you can think about during the pose is where your various body parts are and what they’re doing. Who cares if you can’t get into pretzelasana? In your quest to figure it out, you forgot all about that world class sporting event you have coming up and you’ve forced your brain to uni-task. So tricky, yoga!

4. #balance

In addition to balancing your body and mind, yoga also reminds you to stop and have fun along the way by keeping you inquisitive and playful. At dinner with the team following class, I learned about one of Belgium’s most popular exports: Speculoos, a crushed cookie spread that Gordon and I literally became addicted to for the rest of our trip, thanks to our hotel breakfast buffet. Yoga reminds you to appreciate the journey and eat some crushed up cookies along the way.

team specialized-lululemon + yoga

Watch Evelyn Stevens talk about yoga, cycling, and Flanders:

a few other things that make you fast

Of course, the other factors that make cyclists really fast include straight up hard work, hours of training, a supportive team, coaches, determination and drive. Practicing yoga is a tool that that can give you a competitive advantage by relaxing you, strengthening your muscles, and providing mental clarity. Cobble what!?

Learn more about yoga for cycling (including a series of yoga vids for cyclists!)
Learn more about Team Specialized-lululemon or follow the team on Twitter