Kevin Van Hoovels had a quiet but sharp rise to the top in XCO MTB racing. Kevin represented Belgium at the 2012 Olympics in London and had a career-best finish at the World Championship in 10th. Now focused on coaching other riders, Kevin talks to us about science, study, what it takes to be a pro and why he had to leave his PhD to focus on training. Kevin's advice for aspiring pro riders cannot be ignored. Follow along with Kevin here:
https://twitter.com/kevinvanhoovels?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/kevinvanhoovels/
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69 | How to Be a Pro MTB Racer with Olympian Kevin Van Hoovels
From the Performance Advantage blog · Matt Miller · 2020-11-17
Kevin Van Hoovels had a quiet but sharp rise to the top in XCO MTB racing. Kevin represented Belgium at the 2012 Olympics in London and had a career-best finish at the World Championship in 10th. Now focused on coaching other riders, Kevin talks to us about science, study, what it takes to be a pro and why he had to leave his PhD to focus on training. Kevin's advice for aspiring pro riders cannot be ignored.
Kevin’s journey in the sport began at age 15, watching mountain biking on mainstream television and riding with his family. He began riding with his local club and competing in races. His progression of race results later saw him ranked top 5 nationally as a junior, race world cups as an U23, win an U23 national title, an elite national title, race the Olympics and top 10 at World Champs. Kevin tells the story of racing world cups as an U23 when the race was combined with the elites and starting as the 260th rider!
"I was never anything special as a junior, but I stayed consistent and focused on rest to be my best."