|Around the Academy:
I think downhill racing is fascinating from a mental point of view.
There's so much that comes into it.
You can be a brilliant bike rider and ride down the hill all weekend faster than anyone.
But you have to able to put the one run that counts together at the right time.
It all comes down to one run - that's what you're judged on.
And it can all go wrong so easily - there are so many factors involved.
You have to be very confident in your own ability.
It's important not to get put off by others.
And not to get put off by the track.
For example, if you make a mistake on a practise run you can't approach that section on your main run thinking, 'I crashed here last time.'
If you think like that you're bound to do it again.
It's like if you look at a tree you'll hit it.
You have to be so strong and positive mentally and try to shut out the fears and anxieties that go on around you.
Also, when you're practising or walking the course - learn the course, learn the lines, memorise exactly where you're going.
You have to concentrate and make sure you have the course in your head.
Then when you race all you have to do is reapply what you know so that it becomes like a second nature thing.
You don't want to have to think, 'Do I go right or left on this corner?'
That's my mantra: learn the turns and the lines.