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.

The Schlecks vs Bruyneel - rumble with a cause?

What is next?

Photo credit Barry Ryan, downloaded here.

Many have had their attention on the "situation" in the Radioshack-Nissan-Trek team the last weeks. Fränk Schleck exited the giro after the team had laid down some heavy work for him, and Bruyneel couldn't understand why he (Fränk) left because "He might have had an injury to his shoulder, but yesterday he finished with the best,” Bruyneel told Luxembourg newspaper Tageblatt. “So his physical condition could not have been bad, when he rides with the top 10 places.” as the article over at Velonation says.

The athlete's perspective
Rumours about an uneasy situation within the RSNT-team have been circulating for some time, but this statement, if true, really made the headlines. First of all, it is not easy for any of the parties. Fränk and Andy, where Fränk apparently was the driving force of leaving Saxo in the first place, had a nice first year at Leopard. They surrouned themselves with people they knew, like team manager Brian Nygaard and sports director Kim Andersen to mention a few. Suddenly they found themselves without the power and control any longer. Nygaard got squeezed out, in came John Bruyneel who are used to get things his way. One can only speculate what has been going on behind the curtains of the team bus but Kim Andersen got sidelined too, something the brothers took very hard.

Nothing ruins a day more for a top athlete than breaking the daily routine. Top athletes have their days all lined up, what to eat, what to train when, how many hours to sleep and so forth. Predictability and stability is key. Suddenly they (apparently) was denied this by an intruder ordered in by Becca himself.
This is one side of the story, and there are at least one more, if not several.

Everybody in the cycling media and others, me included, love to point out if something's out of the ordinary with the Schlecks. But is it really? The brilliant INRNG has a good comparativ analysis of Andy Schleck last year and now, and I have to agree, I don't think we've seen the last of the Schlecks. They will be strong in July both of them.

Fränk making a choice?

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Public vs internally
What can the reason be that the rumble between Bruyneel and the Schlecks got public in the first place? T tell you the truth, I was surprised to see this happen in the media the way it did. Was it good journalism that brought it out, was it pressure that had to be steamed? Was it a part of someone's strategy of getting that dirty laundry out in the open to make a point? Whatever the reason(s) this doesn't look good for anyone.

A team manager could be a manager or he could choose to be a leader. At the same time, riders could act professional in the public, after all, this what is expected of most others in their work-life if they struggle with a leader. Who lose? Everyone. The team as questions converning leadership, direction and power keep popping up making it difficult to perform, the Schlecks as they might come across as difficult to work with, Bruyneel as his public rant harms people's impression of him and Becca as his dream might not come true this year. Sponsors don't like what they see either. In addition to this fans all over the world witness team members and leaders rant in public and accusations fly everywhere. Who to believe?

Normally, the truth lies somewhere in between.

But please, take control over this situation and keep it internally. Let the legs do the talking.

BMC - the pressure is building

The World Tour circus has been ongoing for one and a half months now, travelling from Down Under to Asia and the Middle East. The riders have enjoyed some nice weather and been riding with their new kit, some with their new team for the very first time. Some teams have been winning "every race" (as I wrote here) while others have yet to open the champagne.

Worried yet?

Photo downloaded here.

Winning is contagious
Yesterday I talked to Mads Kaggestad, former Credit Agricole, on twitter. He mentioned that the pressure is now on for the big teams who have yet to win. I support this fully.
Of course, the riders on teams that haven't won anything yet will shrug the shoulders, look distant and say that "the season is still young" or that "the goals are the classics" and so forth. But, beneath all that, I suppose there is a tiny piece of uncertainty building. Nothing big, nothing you'll loose sleep over. Yet.

Thing is, big teams have big riders. Big riders get the support, meaning that "less experienced riders need to seize the possibilities", as Kaggestad said. So far they have not, meaning that the team's stars need to step up to do the job and win. After all, that is what they are paid to do.

Take BMC, having last years WC, tour winner, and rider of the year. The pressure on these guys is intense. Luckily, the three of them have been in the spotlight before and are familiar with pressure and how to deal with it. Have in mind, being mentally strong has nothing to do with being emotionless or "switched off", it is how you deal with pressure.

Solutions
There are many things one can do to deal with this, in my work I see this all of the time. Getting on the offensive and in that "zone" is critical, over-analyzing the preparations, the training and the team, are just some examples of how not to do it. Hopefully, staff and riders have been in situations like this before and have a strategy to cope with it or race coaches who are trained to work on these matters. Let's not forget another fact in favour of the stars; having adjusted your form during the better part of a decade helps too.

Summary
The season has been on-going for nearly two months now. Teams like OP-QS, Lotto, Sky and LIQ have all nailed a victory or three each, bringing the riders' shoulders down and creating smiles all around. Meanwhile, other big teams, like BMC has yet to prove themselves. This may lead to pressure building, both within the team, from sponsors and from fans. Will discipline remain? Who has the mental strength to perform? Only time will tell. 

Three teams are flourishing so far - why?

The road season is back on track with season openings on far warmer latitude than I'm familiar with this early. Tour Down Under kickstarted it, while we now have the riders enjoying six-star hotels in Qatar and Oman. That said, racing took off in Portugal today too, with the Volta ao Algarve.




It pays to be a winner

Photo by Karim Jaffar/Afp, downloaded here.

 So far this season has been dominated by the two Belgian teams Omega Pharma - Quick Step (OP-QS) and Lotto-Belisol (Lotto), with Italian team Liqigas-Cannondale (LIQ) as the third team that made the headlines so far. It is a mix of both young and experienced riders who have claimed the podium. I like the fact that several young ones have developed further. LIQ riders Oss, Viviani and of course Sagan, have all raised the bar to a level few have been able to follow so far. The experienced Greg "Hendy" Henderson has taken charge of the lead-out train in Lotto, given Greipel the lead-out he was missing last year. Boonen is back looking as strong as ever, while teammate youngster Andy Fenn won in Mallorca.

Easy come easy goes
It is difficult to predict the future, if not impossible, but lets take a closer look at OP-QS. The merger last year when Marc Couke, the CEO of Omega Pharma, promised to keep the money in a Belgian team, has so far proved the critics wrong. Patrick Lefevere can smile all way to the team car with Couke's rumoured €4,5 mill tied into the team. Together with the sale of the majority stake to Czech businessman Zdenek Bakala, the finances seems to be working well.

The team has a great roster, including some riders from HTC who needed a contract found a spot in the belgian team. Not that those rider neccessarily is better than the others, but there is something that comes along for free, in a positive way when recruiting riders from the best team in decades; winning culture. Reporter Geir Økland, who reported for Norwegian TV2 in Qatar, spoke to DS Peeters to get the team's recipe for success, these are the key points:

• The team is stronger than last year (riders)
• Better mentality among the riders
• "hungry" new riders on the team keep the pressure up during training
• More chiropractors and physios have kept the injuries low

In addition to this, Brian Holm has arrived as DS. He played a vital part at HTC, where they cultivated the scientific approach that increased both the individual development of each rider as well as building the team super strong.

Summary
It is too early to say if the playing field will be leveled out, but for the other teams I do hope it. For what is worth, I believe these teams has been given an indication that their plan during the short winter has worked well. They are heading into the spring season with their head held high. But, now every rider has done the difficult, hard work, from now on it's all about racing to fitness. The season is still young.

Girona cycling enclave - off season

Girona

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The 2011 cycling season is over. Right now riders are scattered all over the globe, relaxing in their hometowns or on vacation, evidence that that cycling too has been exposed to globalization. Some are enjoying the time off, resting with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that their season was literally off the charts. Others are feeling the pressure already, even before 2012 has begun. So how long time off does a professional rider take? Of course as many answers as riders. Some take two weeks, others a month. This depends a bit on next years goals too, being in top shape at tour down under or Milan-San Remo means some riders probably have started 2012 already.

Why enclave
Ever seen pictures of riders from different teams training together? Cycling teams consists of some 25+ riders, depending on their UCI-status. Teammates can go months without seeing each other, as rosters at races usually have a limitation of the number of riders allowed to compete. This does not mean riders are all alone, they tend to gather in enclaves around Europe. Some in the south of France, some around lake Como and others in Girona, Spain. Girona has many American riders, ever since Johnny Weltz, former USPS team director set up in Girona in 1996, Hincapie, Hamilton and Vande Velde followed soon after, many have followed in their footsteps. Brent Bookwalter and Peter Stetina to mention a few.

In his book Le Métier, Canadian Michael Barry, who also resides in Girona, says that 'foreign professional cyclists who were attracted to the town for its proximity to the mountains, the Mediterranean climate, and the swelling pool of training partners.' Many riders emphasize two of these points, climate and training partners. Jonathan Vaughters and his Slipstream organization is also based in Girona. Take a second to imagine what it was like back in the beginning of the millennium, where Hincapie met up with Armstrong, Landis (Phonak), Hamilton (CSC) and Vande Velde (Liberty Seguros) for a ride. All good mates back then.

A couple of good friends at a Girona café - socializing.

Photo by @robhayles1, found here. 

Being pro is hard work and securing a contract is demanding, both physically and mentally. Some may find it hard to move to a foreign country in early age, some don't even speak the local language. Moving to a place where other riders are makes the transition a lot easier. Back in the day, there were not many enclaves. Team Sky DS Kurt Asle Arvesen left for Italy without speaking Italian in an Italian team as the only non-Italian rider. He described the first years as very tough and emphasized the difficulties in adapting to a new culture without speaking the language properly. But humans are adaptive, as Darwin described us and Arvesen managed alright in the end.

Climate and riding
Girona is located on the northeast tip of the Iberian island, close to the French border and naturally the Pyrenees. As a small Catalan city of 100 000 or so inhabitants, cyclists do stand out in a crowd. However, the Catalans are private people and do seldom approach riders for autographs. To call the city Spanish is almost an insult to the locals. Its identity is as Catalan as it gets, which is reflected in culture, art and food.
The temperature in Girona is very nice, at least from my perspective living where I do. In winter time it drops to -5 degrees centigrades (23 F), not frightening at all. Many rides north and east of the city towards the sea as that area is relatively flat. Straight north and west of Girona the landscape is more demanding, recently Peter Stetina said in an interveiw with Peloton magazine that the climb Rocacorba is one of the highlights in the area, it is located just north of Girona.

One handy aspect with small towns is that it doesn't take long to escape urbanity and enter the quiet countryside. Passing through the outskirts of Girona and to the farmland surrounding the city will take you back in time. Small castles, churches and even a few aqueducts will be spotted. If you decide to take a trip down there, be careful. You can ride for hours without seeing cars but the roads are very narrow and the quality of the roads varies as well as the presence of pattern.

Summary
Girona is the home to many pros, especially those from the US. The climate is tempting along with the possibility to find training partners who they also socialise with on their spare time. If in doubt regarding where to go for a ride, ask a pro. I'm sure you'll find some of them in a decent café around lunchtime.

Transfer season - not everybody continues as cyclists

From front of the peloton to the back - transfers just as important

Photo downloaded here.

It is transfer season indeed. Every single day we read about riders changing team, staying with present team or just rumours, more or less accurate depending on the source.  The newest “rumour” on the notebook is that of Tony Martin, going to Omega Pharma – Quickstep. Apparently, this is just a rumour, because others, like Daniel Benson of CN, say that Martin has yet to sign the contract. Confused yet?

Not all riders are going to continue on the bike. Some will not seek the roads again, having studied while riding or due other reasons. Some continue behind the wheel of a team car, taking up on the important role as DS or rider developer. Why is this worth mentioning, I hear you ask. Well, firstly it is a topic many have neglected so far, which in itself makes it interesting. Secondly, a move like this is crucial for the future of the sport, something that should interest all of us.

For the rider making that leap might find it difficult in the beginning. Some might find it hard not being in the spotlight themselves for a change, knowing that the world does not rotate around them anymore, some will experience a feeling of not knowing if he has what it takes. The team owner might fear the Peters Principle, since great palmares as a rider, not automatically guarantees any success as a DS.

If we look at cycling the recent years it has evolved and it has done so in many ways. Like @sofaboy wrote in his post recently, “it’s time to start believing again”. We can all irritate our heart out on behalf of some decisions made by the UCI and we can debate this over and over again – so we should. But in addition to this perspective, culture can arguably being built from the bottom and up. This means that we should follow closely what happens inside teams, not only who the riders are, but also who is doing what, who’s coming from where stating what earlier. We should demand some answers from teams who hire people with dodgy backgrounds. Yes, as Brailsford said earlier: “it is difficult to find skilled people nowadays who hasn’t got a past”. Well, that may be true some years ago, but I don’t believe it is wise to hide behind that conclusion any longer. There are many talented people out there with a burning desire to help riders and teams develop further. 

I want those riders who continue as DS, or in other positions in teams, to be the best. They must have integrity, respect in the peloton, they must have something to contribute in order to make a difference. It could be that my expectations are high, perhaps too high, and it may be that I will be disappointed. Still, this is my view and hope. Luckily, I can think of many riders who can fill such positions when the time is right. Arvesen at Team Sky, Pinotti at HTC to mention a few.

So let’s not forget that transfer season brings hope to the evolvement of cycling from inside teams’ staff too.

The easy way to get a pro cycling team united

How do the Team Managers and the Sport Directors make a professional cycling team truly united?

There are many ways to do so, some do teambuilding like they experienced it as riders, some not the way they experienced it as an active rider. Some use common sense whilst some Team Managers trust science and Harvard Business Review. Some, like Bjarne Riis, trust people like B.S. Christiansen, the famous Danish coach with Special Forces background. B.S. is currently not working with Riis any longer. I know riders who will be pleased hearing this, because some didn't enjoy his famous training camps - at least not a the time while it lasted.

I like to believe cyclists have a high team spirit. After all, they experience some serious pain together in every condition possible and we all know what that makes to people together, right?
Why is it then, that on the first training camp of the year, it looks like a gruppetto coming down the road instead of a team?


This picture shows what I believe some teams can do different and it doesn't cost much either.

Team Astana - oh wait a second - Saxo? No, actually it is Radioshack
Pic by Casey B. Gibson - Cyclingnews.

Yes, I am aware that some teams change their team kit late autumn or during Christmas time due to changes in sponsors and other matters. The main reason we see cyclists dressed differently while training in a team is probably that new cyclists legally belong to their new team from 1st of January. However, many training camps have been held after this date and the riders still look like a group of people from your local cycle club doing their Sunday ride. Except the speed but I'm sure you get my point.

39teeth presented a picture of Team Geox on twitter today from their training camp, no one having team kit, but all dressed in the same outfit - all black. I actually think this is good. Not that they don't have their team kit by now, that's obviously much to late, but glad they all dress the same. 

I am not a kind of guy who needs everything in order, who strives to keep my house shine, but I truly believe same outfit will make the guys feel like a team faster. And, for whatever it's worth, I don't think any football team would do things this way. Imagine the chaos.

If you gather 22 or so riders from every part of the globe, from all kinds of teams and some have even trouble make themselves understood due to language barrier - what to do? The first thing every other group of people do in teambuilding is to get everyone out of the known environment - that would be the office- and remove all forms of hierarchy in the group. Every group will get an object or a colour that identifies the team. Next thing you'll know you are building towers out of toothpicks but that is another story. The single most important thing is unity. If you create unity - you'll have identity to build from and the riders will co-operate on a whole new level. After all, cycling is a team sport, that we know for sure.

Perhaps will there be a change to all this. Perhaps the UCI will put a tax on team kit as they have on bikes causing teams to have team kit ready in October along with the financial backing needed. Perhaps do Team Managers see that this is a very cheap way of creating a robust team from the very start. Then everybody will not be in doubt what team they spot along the roads.

Pic by Richard Moore (Team Sky website)

Radioshack picture by: Casey B. Gibson - Cyclingnews, downloaded here