Bicycle Racing Has a Team Model Like No Other

I have been studying team dynamics for over thirty years. I have followed the sport of bicycle racing for the same amount of time – specifically the Tour de France. Bicycle racing has a team model like no other.

· Teams of eight riders have one goal – to support one member of their team – their team leader. They sacrifice personal fame and glory for another person.
· They ride 2121 miles in 21 races over 23 days – in support of one person.
· They ride in front of their team leader to block the wind and create a draft saving the leader 15-40% in energy costs.
· They make sure their leader has plenty of food and water by riding back and forth to the support car, loading water bottles in their jerseys and racing back up to their team leader.
· If the team leader has mechanical problem they hand over their own bike so the leader doesn’t lose time.
· They block other teams from gaining time on their team leader.

I am not suggesting this is a model we bring into our corporations. I am suggesting that the human condition is one of support and sacrifice. And as crazy as this cycling model is, there is something we can all learn from it.

BTW – this fuzzy picture was taken in 1986 when the first American won the Tour de France – I was there in Paris for the last leg of the race, and the yellow blur in the background is the winner, Greg LeMond.