An extract from my new book Loose …
It was fascinating to observe the progress of Team Sky during last summer’s Tour de France. The expensively assembled team, under the leadership of Dave Brailsford, is following the template used by Brailsford to transform the performance of Britain’s track cycling team from also-rans to the best in the world. His meticulous attention to detail and belief in ‘the aggregation of marginal gains’ (the idea that even small improvements to every facet of the team’s preparation will ultimately make a difference to its performance) played a critical factor in Britain’s domination of the velodrome during the Beijing Olympics.
Brailsford and the rest of his colleagues at Team Sky are using this same approach in a bid to win the ultimate prize in cycling, the Tour de France, by 2014. During the races, nothing is left to chance. The team use their own mattresses, pillows and duvets during their overnight hotel stops to prevent the riders suffering allergic reactions. Team briefings at the beginning of each race day take the form of PowerPoint presentations, rather than the informal discussions used by the other race teams. The team bus offers the ultimate in rider comfort, including a lighting system that can be adjusted to match the riders’ mood. The drinks bottles handed out during the race have different electrolyte mixes for each rider because they sweat in different ways. Even the team leaders admit that they are sometimes guilty of excessive analysis, but nothing will be compromised in the pursuit of excellence.
It would be fair to say that Team Sky’s debut in the Tour did not go to plan. Despite the meticulous preparation and attention to detail, the team’s riders struggled in what must be the world’s most brutal sporting event. It would be unfair to criticize Brailsford and his team right at the start of their five-year mission to win the Tour – especially given his track record – but it will be interesting to observe whether a strategy that works perfectly in the highly controllable conditions of the velodrome can work equally well in the unpredictable environment of the Tour. In the velodrome there are relatively few factors beyond the control of the team directors, other than the performance of their rivals. On the road, however, the teams have to be able to cope with the unexpected – the spectacular crash, interference from spectators and sudden changes of climate. As well as being highly organized, it requires the riders to be able to improvise and respond to situations as they arise.
The former international cricketer Ed Smith, in What Sport Tells Us About Life, claims that, ‘many of the most inspired sporting achievements, like great works of art or innovation, spring from parts of our personalities which resist rational analysis, let alone planning.’ He compares the type of professionalism exhibited by Team Sky, which ‘likes to think it is in control – that it has got a work ethic, a clear process and a precise system’, with the ‘childlike freedom and instinctiveness’ of amateurism. He quotes Brazilian football manager Felipe Scolari, when he was still living off Brazil’s success in the 2002 World Cup, rather than struggling at Chelsea: ‘My priority is to ensure that players feel more amateur than professional … we have to revert to urging players to like the game, love it, do it with joy.’