When Kyle and Rachel met in 2012, Kyle鈥攁 freeride phenom who won Red Bull鈥檚 notorious at age 17, 鈥攚as burned out. , the 2006 junior national cross-country champion, was switching to enduro, stage races where riders are timed only during downhill sections. The pair, who married last year, found that they helped one another with their performance weaknesses. Kyle went on to win the , and Rachel now competes in the .
Play to Your Partner鈥檚 Strengths听
RACHEL: 鈥淢y training is much more structured than Kyle鈥檚. I work with a coach, and if he tells me to do something easy on a particular day, like a two-hour ride, Kyle comes along. He鈥檒l critique me on the down, and I鈥檒l push him on the climb.鈥澨�
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KYLE: 鈥淲hen Rachel and I started hanging out, she was returning to the sport, just like I was, so she had a fire. It helped to have a partner who wanted to train and ride. Any time I ride on trails with her, I struggle. That for me is training.鈥�
Focus on More Than Just Fitness听
RACHEL: 鈥淏efore I was with Kyle, I had this crazy cross-country mentality. I didn鈥檛 focus on skills as much. It was just fitness, fitness, fitness. When I started dating him, he immediately saw all these things that were off with me鈥攆oot position, body position. We started emphasizing skills. Some days we won鈥檛 even leave the yard; we鈥檒l just be on the slalom track.鈥澨�
Put In the Work
RACHEL: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel as nervous as I used to feel, because I know that I鈥檝e done so much skill preparation.鈥�
Eat for Your Needs
RACHEL: 鈥淜yle and I both have junk-food cravings. But I鈥檝e limited the amount of Hot Cheetos he eats.鈥�
听
KYLE: 鈥淚鈥檓 not super strict with my diet, because a lot of what I do is mental. Rachel鈥檚 events are so long and physically demanding that she has to be.鈥�
If It鈥檚 Not Fun, Don鈥檛 Do It
KYLE: 鈥淲hen I was younger, training was completely different for me. Basically, I didn鈥檛 do much of it. Mainly because you didn鈥檛 have bikes that climbed really well and also let you have a good time on the downhill. Any time I had to do a cross-country ride or a trail ride, it really sucked.鈥澨�
When You Fall, Bounce
RACHEL: 鈥淔or me, the gym is a big part of injury prevention. Two years ago, I broke my tibial plateau and went through weeks of PT. I was never a gym fan. Now I go three times a week. Being small, having that muscle to fall back on is crucial.鈥�
KYLE: 鈥淢ost of the preventative stuff I do is flexibility. When I take a hit, the more flexible I am, the better.”