Psychology can only prepare Grace Brown so far, given she will turn herself inside out on the streets of Paris.
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The 32-year-old Australian cycling star is among the medal favourites for Saturday's 32.4km road time trial.
After finishing fourth in the event at the Tokyo Games, Brown has won silver at the last two world championships.
She is expected to duel for the podium with American Chloe Dygert and Dutch pair Ellen van Dijk and Demi Vollering.
Like Brown, all have impeccable credentials in the event known as the race of truth.
In such a high-speed event, factors such as aerodynamics and equipment are critical.
Then there's the mental side, meaning plenty of visualisation work.
"By the time I race, I've gone through the whole thing so many times in my head, it's just like getting out there and pressing 'go', auto-pilot almost," she told AAP.
"Obviously there are still nerves before the race. And doing that doesn't take away the emotions once you finish and once you've executed that.
"But sometimes in the actual race, it's quite nice when you've done it really well, it's a bit of a flow state.
"Then obviously you get to a point when it's really starting to hurt and the mind games are going on. That's a bit hard to practise in visualisation - it's still very real and in the moment, despite all the preparation."
Brown retire at the end of this season, so the Paris Olympics carry even more weight for her.
She also will be the main Australian hope in the women's road race, especially after she won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic earlier this season.
Unlike the road race, the time trial course is almost pancake flat and Brown admits she would like some hills.
But having ridden the course, she is excited for what is to come.
"We are racing (the time trial) in the centre of Paris so really in the guts of it, we went out on course yesterday and already lots of public on the sidelines cheering us as we were practising on the course," she said.
With expectations and form comes pressure and Brown said she has mixed views on that part of sport.
"Definitely I feel more prepared, I know what's coming, I know what is needed to perform at an event like this but also with that experience comes a little bit more pressure so that's a different aspect that I have to deal with this time around," she said.
"I wouldn't say that I crave it (pressure), because it's an uncomfortable feeling - it's not enjoyable, necessarily - but I feed off it quite well.
"I perform well under pressure, in general.
"In my mind, pressure is basically just a reminder that everyone believes in what I can do and cares about my performance."
Also on Saturday, Luke Plapp is an outside medal chance in the men's time trial over the same course, featuring big names such as Belgian Remco Evenopoel and Italian Filippo Ganna.
"Anything above 50km/h is considered quick so 55km/h would be one of the fastest we've done," Plapp said of the course.
"On my best ride I could definitely be up there so hopefully we're somewhere around that mark and I'm really looking forward to it, this is why I ride a bike and this is the biggest event for me in the world."
Australian Associated Press
