Thoughts on teamwork and the tour

Almost there

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Let me start by apologize for the few posts I've written during the tour. Blame work, and partly that I have enjoyed watching cycling all day and evening. Instead, I have tweeted more, microblogging so to say.

Today we witnessed Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky winning the 2012 Tour de France. I feel a bit uncomfortable saying it out loud, because the race continues for two more days, three if you count the parade in to Paris. Freak accidents and mechanical breakdowns could happen. We've seen Michael Rasmussen loose a podium some years ago during the last TT, crashing twice and throwing the bike into the woods wearing the climbers jersey. But by the looks of things, Team Sky have this one under control, the same control they have had of the tour.

Some have critisized the tour of being boring and predictable, and that Team Sky "ruined" the excitement by being so strong. I think the reason is not just one, but several.

• First of all the route sort of favors the TT specialists, that we've known since the route was unveiled last October, everybody understood that.
• Secondly, the crash at stage 6 injured many riders and some even left the race. Crashes the first week is nothing new but difficult to avoid as nervousness and inattention haven't let go yet.
• Our expectations to the tour. Fans want to see dancing pedals and furious attacks around every corner as well remembering this tour as the best ever. Preservation of team's goals once its in within reach as well as UCI point system and physical limitations, are some of the reasons our expectations weren't met.
• Total domination by Sky is another reason as they are just too strong to combat.

Oiled maschinery in action - "We've trained for this."

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Ambitions aside
I have previous written about this issue and all of you who follow professional cycling are aware of this. Sometimes it be painful to watch, as riders setting their personal ambitions, dreams and aspirations aside for the team's decision. Sky have done that this year to the fullest. The tour is one of the very few races, if not the only one in cycling, where 2nd and 3rd are not the first losers.

Today we all witnessed the climbing skills of Chris Froome, he is, in my eyes anyway, the best climber of all the riders in this year's tour. It is hard to watch Froome not getting another stage as "payment" as almost all had wanted that to happen. It's easy to have this perspective, at least when we are not certain of the communication between the two riders in question and the team car. Wiggins said after the stage that he had given Froome the "go" to get the stage win but Froome chose to stay with him. I have yet to see any comments by the DS.
People have speculated if Froome can win a tour himself in the future, and I have no doubt he will, if he's got the same support as Wiggins. It's also important to remember that Froome knew what he signed up for, he's newly renewned his contract, and is paid to help Bradley win. This is the objective perspective of course. Froome will be a giant in the years to come, he's been struggling with sickness the last couple of years but is back now. Imagine where he will be in two years of solid training by Kerrison in Sky?

I have written about Wiggins and Froome earier this tour, you can read that here.

Edvald Boasson Hagen who was free to go during two stages early in the tour, after that he has set his own ambitions aside selflessly. Towing an insanely amount of kilometres at the front, today he even pulled the main group to the bottom of the last climb, loosing several climbers in the making. What could he have done if he was not destined to work for Wiggins? Froome said in an interview today that he though EBH could win the yellow jersey one day and that he was totally blown away by EBH's capacity.

Same goes with Mark Cavendish, the reigning WC, the best sprinter of them all, reduced to a mere shadow of himself (or his capacity). Seeing carrying water bottles and being supportive of Wiggins is fine and he's got one stage so far.
It is easy to say that "yes, this is what they all should do." That is correct, but these guys are not just anybody. It takes a certain mindset to be a professional cyclist, and it takes a certain mindset to be as good as these guys are.

It is a bit ironic that Radioshack-Nissan lead the team competition. Today we saw Klöden riding past Zubeldia without helping him, Zubeldia being #5 GC prior to today's stage but dropping quicker than the US interest rate. So much for that, team competition is obviously more important. So Radioshack-Nissan is on track to win the best team competition for being a bunch of individuals. Lovely.

Danish dynamite
Who else but Chris Anker Sørensen? Trying hard for almost the entire tour to succeed in a brake, today he tried to fetch a newspaper out of his spokes in-flight, cutting three spokes in the process. The result was visible for all. Florence Pommerie, one of the tour docs, changed his dressings three times, claiming CAS "didn't have any pain, it just bled much." As of now, it's uncertain whether CAS will begin tomorrows stage as he undergoes surgery as we speak. Riis was quoted saying that CAS didn't have much flesh on two of his fingers left.

Danish dynamite

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Swede Kessiakoff deserves a mention too, fighting for the KOM jersey for two weeks, only to be bypassed by the clever Voeckler the last two days. Today's KOM battle was almost more interesting than the GC.

Summary
One could say the 2012 tour de France is over, but we've got a couple of stages left. The design of the very tour, incidents and injuries during the tour, the fans' expectations and the Team Sky domination are some of reasons this year's tour have been quite predictable.

Always nice but at the same time frustrating to see good riders giving up their own ambitions to meet a "higher" goal set by the team. Payback will come and hopefully everyone will be happy. After all, this is teamsport.

The tour de France is soon over. But fear not, the Olympics are soon here as well as Il Lombardia and the Worlds.

Moments in cycling 2011

In the bag...

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Off season is finally over, teams and cyclists are gathering on different team building sites, some to "boot camp", while others, like Saxo, turns to exotic Israel for their first team building. Is it time to review the year now?

I have been thinking of making a "best of 2011"-post for a couple of weeks, I really enjoy reading others posts about that, searching videos on YouTube and so forth. This year has been fantastic, we have seen great racing taking place. Luckily, there was a certain spread in winners, perhaps with the one exception being Gilbert. He didn't win the most obvious race, Il Lombardia, hope the other riders see this as a sign everybody can be beaten. 2011 also proved to be a very sad year with the tragic death of Wouter Weylandt.

It is not easy to evaluate top performers in sports, too many feelings, nationalities and other interests involved. I have decided to call them moments, to avoid the best performers debate, in my world, top performer does not automatically equal winning, although I do of course, recognize the obvious achievement.


The list
10. The aggressiveness of Francais des jeux, putting riders in almost every breakaway this season, making it very entertaining to follow races. Chapeau Jérémy Roy and the others!

9. Team Britain during the Worlds in Copenhagen. It been long since I have seen a team riding at the front all day, all riding so selflessly. Ok, so it went to pieces the last oh-so important kilometer but still, delivering a sprinter like Cav in that position with one click to go should ensure business, which it obviously did.

8. French cycling's riders Thomas Voeckler and Pierre Rolland. Voeckler actually got recognized by many as a genuine contender for the GC, he put up a terrific fight. His TT skills is something he need to work very hard to be a podium contender next year. Rolland partly for his win on Alpe d'Huez and partly for his part in defending Voeckler's yellow. I think he will be a force to follow closely in the years to come.

7. Edvald Boasson Hagen's stage win in Pinerolo Tour de France. First of all because of a will to win and a stamnina few riders have. The day before he was outsprinted by fellow Norwegian Hushovd, EBH then decided to win the next day. Trying relentlessly to get in the breakaway all day, he succeeded, rode Chavanel off his wheel and solo'ed to the finish line. Perhaps it's time to stop calling him a giftet talent by now?

6. "New" riders stepping up to the challenge. We had many this year, too many to mention all, but Sagan, Kittel, Degelkolb and Offredo to mention a few, is just great. I really see this as a new start if you like, for cycling, after many dark years.

5. Mark Cavendish winning the green jersey. I could say the worlds too, but it is his achievement during the tour that I feel deserves a mention. With new point rules he stepped up to the challenge and really fought for his points, everyone of them. His wins were amazing, not every win as dominating as last year but still mighty impressive. The green jersey is dear to me, it is not a pure sprinter's jersey, more of an allrounder, at least historically speaking.

4. Alberto Contador and his giro was just phenomenal. No one was even close. He came to the race with a big uncertainty hanging over him, as I write this it still is. He proved to be very strong psychologically, one can say much about him, but that really impressed me. His way of climbing on the stage to Etna really gave the race a serious blow, being so much better than the rest. He rode well during the tour too, proved to be strong mentally again, and he contributed to an excited race with his attack.

3.  Thor Hushovd's solo win during the tour wearing the rainbow jersey. A sprinter turned classics rider, Hushovd attacked early on the stage and fought his way over Col d'Aubisque, to pass the brave Roy with 3 clicks to go. Fantastic to see a stage win like that in that jersey, brought back memories of times almost forgotton in cycling. Powerhouse Hushovd.
 
2. Cadel Evans winning the tour. Evans have tried many times, this time he got it, leaving the two Schleck brothers as runners up. L'Equipe showed a drawing in the newspaper the day after, where Cadel holds two spotted fur up while standing on the podium. The team rode steady the whole tour keeping Cadel out of harm's way and he finished it off with a powerful TT securing the yellow jersey. Classic scenes.

1. Phillipe Gilbert winning almost all he wanted. Unbelievable palmares, winning the Ardenner triple in a convincing matter. Crowning the year by wearing yellow and green during the tour, winning a stage too. No wonder he tops almost every ranking.



Honourable mentions
Hoogerlands bravery after being clipped by that French TV car, the way the giro handles social media. It is smaller than then tour, and the tour is the pinnacle of the cycling season, no doubt. Still, being able to explore new media and interact with fans is branding at its best. It is all about hearts and minds, I guess.
Tony Martin putting an end to Fabians dominance in the TTs with his win at the Worlds. Another achievement worth mentioning, as was Froome in the Vuelta. Getting Cavendish, Jens Voigt and Cancellara on twitter has made me many laughs this year.

There were of course other incindents we won't miss. The crashes at the tour bringing down the number of GC contenders was terrible to watch. Yes, a natural part of pro cycling, but still. The ongoing Contador case is very embarrasing for cycling, for the UCI, for the Spanish cycling federation and not least for the riders left to compete with riders under investigation.


And who can forget the tragic death of Wouter Weylandts during the giro. WW108

Can you feel a color?

As the season is over the regular 'best of the year'-posts show up. These are actually one of my favourite posts, they represent all the good memories throughout the year. The chance to review the best happenings of a whole season fills me with joy and brings my level of anticipation for next year even higher.
And it has been quite a year. This sport of ours takes leaps in several ways, the technological and social. At the same time tiny baby steps on other frontiers, like governance, rules and point system to mention a few. There's been some interesting discussions regarding this matter but that is a post on its own.

The word which start with 'pan' and ends with 'ache'
I salute the riders, not only the winners but the performance or achievement of the others too. Endurance, both the strictly physical element as well as mere psychological barriers, have fascinated me over the years, and I believe that's partly the reason I find cycling so fascinating in the first place.

This years tour and giro was all about suffering. The giro was much harder than the tour, but a rider can suffer like a dog and perform higher than expected, no matter how steep the mountains. Sprinters don't have easy days during a GT, as Mark Cavendish says in Michael Barry's Le Métier. Riders who give their all create history and ensure their place in fans' hearts. I have heard of fans and others who actually claims an heroic effort gave them a brand new impression of a rider. Call it shallow and superficial if you must, but I consider this a very human thing to do.

So, in this post I want to focus on those who outperform the expectations. Especially those with a jersey. What does it mean to wear a pink or a yellow jersey? Why do some rise to the occasion while other don't? There is an expression that goes something like this: You don't rise to the occasion in combat, you'll sink down to the level of training.

"Am I still in yellow?"
Hushovd on Super-Besse

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As earlier mentioned, Hushovd had seven days in the yellow jersey during the tour. Earlier tours, when they started with an easy seven kilometres prologue, sprinters could compete for yellow the first four-five days, but this was different.

This is what Hushovd said after the Tour de France stage to Super-Besse Sancy:
"I know I'm in shape, perhaps the best shape of my life. Knowing that makes one dig very deep inside myself and get everything out. The jersey is a motivation in itself." 
"I cannot be disappointed when I loose the yellow jersey because I have given my all each day to defend it." 

The great Eddy Merckx was driven by his own goals, at least according to this article. "The biggest pressure to perform came from within me". "Quiet, internal motivation", are some of the words used to describe the great champion.

At this year's Tour de France, almost everyone expected Thomas Voeckler to loose the yellow jersey afer a day or two. Europcar's Jean-René Bernaudeau said this to velonews after the third day in the Pyrenees: "The team has really surprised me with how well it's defending the yellow jersey. It gives us wings."
Even though Voeckler is known for his attacking style of cycling, at least when the tv-cameras are on, he did something incredible this summer. Arguably, some said this was solely because the big favourites focused on each other.

Voeckler giving it all - repeatedly
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And who can forget Johnny Hoogerland standing on the podium in his KOM-jersey, after being thrown into a barbed wire fence following a collision with the TV-car? Truly one admirable action, that speaks for itself. 

What drives people
What make athletes live the life they do, and choose as they do? Motivation is perhaps the most researched field in psychology. The general curiosity concerning the elements that can make us shape our future, is it possible to influence our ability to make choices? To explain behaviour is always easy in retrospect, but it is priceless to be able to see history in the making. Some prefer dividing motivation in two main characteristics; intrinsic and extrinsic. 
Science and research often point to several different types or theories of motivations, based on instinct, incentive, drive-reduction, psychoanalytic theory, broad theories as well as different cognitive theories. The common denominator, however, seem to be emotions, which is very interesting. To simplify the matter, we might say we all tend to maximise pleasure while we at the same time try to minimise pain. Sadly, the different theories are too many to investigate further here, but feel free to reflect on what drives the different riders when they perform, I'm sure there are differences.   

The tour was splendid, especially for us Norwegians. Riders and journos have for many years described the vikinghelmets during the tour. This year was exceptional, with EBH and Hushovd taking four stages and Hushovd made seven days in the yellow jersey. I noticed that many tweeted their surprise to how determined EBH seemed during stage 17 to Pinerolo, it truly was a beastly performance. Those who know EBH knew he would come up with something after being outsprinted by Hushovd the day before. He called his father the same evening, sounding very determined claiming that "tomorrow, I'll win." After trying to get into every break that day, and being hunted down every time, finally the break established itself and the rest is history.

Some people just have this ability. Debate it, research it,and call it whatever you like. I just love to watch it take place.

Thomas Voeckler vs a horse

Sport is entertaining. Athletes, like every other celebrity, need to exchange their cultural capital into social capital, that's how people remain in the public eye. This is also one of the reasons celebrities often hang out together. Anyway, I'll stop there, but you catch where I'm going. Athletes need to promote themselves, sponsors and the team as a part of their job. In the period after the tour, we see this clearly with the crits taking place all over Europe.

Here you'll find a video of the ever so popular French rider Thomas Voeckler trying to outsprint a horse a couple of days ago at an exhibition in Les Sables-d'Olonne, located in the Vendée area, close to where Voeckler resides. Who will get to the finish line first?