One of the most abiding sporting memories I have from my childhood is Stephen Roche crossing the line at La Pagne in the 1987 Tour de France having clawed back a large gap opened up by his chief rival Pedro Delgado to just 4 seconds. The super human effort made Roche collapse, lose consciousness and require oxygen to breath. It would be the decisive stage that won him that year’s Tour though. He also won the Giro d’Italia and the World Road Race Championship in 1987, to this date only the second person alongside Eddie “The Cannibal” Merckx to achieve the Triple Crown of Cycling in one calendar year.
Since then, I have been a huge fan of Le Tour. Not only does the race offer a picture postcard view of France, as an endurance test for man it is hard to think of an event more gruelling. Three weeks in the saddle with some vicious mountain peaks to overcome thrown in, it certainly does test athletes to their limits. I particularly love the mountain stages of Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux where the sheer effort involved is awe inspiring, where the men are truly separated from the mice.
Although the image of cycling as a clean sport has taken a battering in recent times due to the drug revelations surrounding Lance Armstrong (and rightly so), there still is a lot to commend the sport. It is very much a team sport where everyone has a clear role to play to ensure the team and its leader triumphs. As with all of us in a work environment, some cyclists are better at certain aspects of their jobs than others. In your career, which of the below cyclist types do you think captures you best?
Domestique
A Domestique is the ultimate team player in the Peloton. He works for the benefit of his team and his leader. The Domestique gets food and drink from the team car, shields their leader from attacks or leads attacks on behalf of their team. In an office environment this type of person always puts the company or team before themselves. They are always willing to give a helping hand, sometimes to the detriment of their own work.
Climber
Climbers have endurance in abundance. No matter how hard the climb is, they will keep pushing themselves until the vanquished are left strewn behind them. Tenacious and persistent, the climber will push through whatever barriers are thrown in their way. In work, this person will not give-in on a task until the bitter end, no matter how many hurdles need to be overcome. A great person to work on a Priority 1 Project, their tunnel vision may see them miss the bigger picture at times though.
Time Trialist
Time trialists are specialists at maintaining high speeds over a long period of time against the clock. They are usually good at working alone, are focused and have high powers of concentration. In work, this type of person knows what they want to achieve and how to do it, can do this with or without team members and never get distracted by what is going on around them.
Sprinter
Sprinters finish races explosively, accelerating to enormous speeds over short distances. They generally conserve their energy beforehand, using the slipstream from other cyclists before the final push for the line. They need to be tactical and decisive. In the office, this person will be a steady-eddie, will not expend more energy than needed to do their job until an opportunity arises. Biding their time, this person knows when to strike, and is decisive when they do so.
All-rounder
All-rounders are good climbers and time trialists, often decent sprinters too. Generally they are the team leader, the person most likely to win a Grand Tour like the Tour de France, the person a team gets behind to make this happen. In work, this person usually takes a leadership role within organisations. Not necessarily sparkling at one aspect of their role, the high quality given to all elements allows this person to constantly perform well, to see the bigger picture and to lead team members.
Which of these cycling profiles represents you best? How has your personality impacted on your career to date?
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*Images courtesy of WorldWideCyclesBlog & Guardian.co.uk
