Time
This stuff takes time and successful athletes know this. If we could, I think we would all jump ahead a few years to gain that experience as quickly as possible! As we have written about over and over again, we are talking about the development of physiological systems. Better blood to transport oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. Better gas exchanges in the lungs. Development of mitochondria (where energy is created) in the working muscles. These things don't happen overnight, they take time. Plus, equally important is gaining experience in the racing environment. Learning about tactics and strategies and developing true race knowledge.
Frequent Races and Being a True Competitor
Bike racing is different than most sports. In running and triathlon training, you can do some of your best performances in training. Your focus is usually for one event at a time and as you enter your event, given you trained correctly, you pretty much know how you will do. For example if you are training for a marathon to do 3:30, given all things go according to plan, you will be around that and not 2:45 or 4:30. Bike racing is different and you have to race to race. No way to get true race experience but to pay your entry fee, line up at the start line and let her rip!
Successful athletes in this sport race a lot and race consistently. They are focused on certain race goals, but use a lot of races to ultimately prepare for those goals. This is actually a huge benefit to our sport. Unlike marathon running or Ironman triathlon competitors, we can race day after day, week after week. What a bonus! Do a little experiment and track days of training to days of racing and see what the ratio is. Use that as a benchmark to talk to your coach and see if there is room for improvement and make sure you are prepared physically and mentally to do so.
Attitude
Without a doubt, this is the big one. You can say what you want about having the physiology, but it's the attitude that successful riders carry that ultimately defines their success. Don't get me wrong, physiology is important, but more at the higher levels of the sport, not as much at the amateur and weekend warrior levels. A majority of riders we work with have more than enough physiological capacity.
It's the attitude they carry though the highs and lows that define them. We all fail, we all struggle, and we all go through difficult times. That is a given. It's how you come out of that time that is important. It's how you handle losing or failure (strong word, but gets my point across.) Successful riders handle these setbacks and losses with strength and determination. They avoid being super high and super low. If they lose, they congratulate the winner, smile and say, "Good job, you really rode well. I'll get you next time." If they get dropped on a given day, they realize there are days that just don't click, especially as we get older. They don't dwell, they just smile and focus on the next goal. In short, think about it this way: it's not just about competition and performance, it's about health and well-being. We are damned lucky to even be doing this stuff. Realize that and smile when you have a setback.
In summary, discuss these attributes with your coach or family. Understand as an athlete that we are limited more by our environment more than anything else and how much we can and are willing to sacrifice.