Looser cultivates winning mentality 

Vera Looser was not always this good. In fact, she’s a late bloomer who worked tirelessly on her craft and is now reaping the rewards of her effort.

The 30-year-old hopes that her relentless spirit will carry her through the Olympic Games for a third time when she navigates the sharp hills and cobbles of Paris on Sunday.

Like her 2016 Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, Looser did not finish the women’s road race in Tokyo three years ago, despite a bright start which saw her lead for half the course.

The 10-time national road race champion accepts that setbacks are part of the trade and that it requires you to use the lessons picked up from disappointment to keep plucking away.

Looser, who has been rock bottom and bounced back countless times, is a much better rider at present than back then, and is enjoying her cycling at the moment.

“I was motivated by not doing well, like going to the world champs and being second-last as a junior, that didn’t pull me down. It actually motivated me to become better and to become those top girls,” she says.

Detailing her journey from riding around for fun to becoming an international champion, Looser’s resolve and desire to improve is a recurring theme.

“I would say I’m like five to 10 years behind the people I race against. So, they get that exposure really early, where I had to almost work my way up from Namibia to South Africa to Europe, to finding sponsors, to making a living out of it, you have to finance yourself as well,” Looser said in a recent Olympic promo video of the Namibia Athletes Committee.

“I don’t say it’s impossible, it’s just more work, but I think it’s also a sign that if you then really make it, it just shows your perseverance and that you definitely have the mentality to be right up there,” she said.

“I would say as a junior, you can still stay at home and mom and dad are paying for everything, but when you’re between 25 and 30, you have to somewhere make your own money and make your own living out of it, which makes it really difficult.”

With the right conditions, Looser believes she can finally make an impression with the third time asking.

The course for the women’s road race, which is renowned for being hard to predict, has a total length of 158km, and will feature 90 riders.

Unlike the time trial, the road race in Paris will have different routes for men and women.

The winner of the women’s race is expected to finish over four hours.