I love teamwork! If you would like to see effective teamwork at its finest, tune in to watch the 2011 Tour de France.
Watch these incredible athletes for even an hour and you will witness some of the best examples of unselfish desire to help a teammate excel. Over the past 10 years I’ve watched countless hours of the Tour de France and I get excited and inspired every single time.
I love the beauty and coordination of nine men riding as a team as hard as they can with all they can. As a team, they ride for hundreds of miles in a day in a single line with each rider taking his turn to be the lead. They do this in hopes their man will cross the line first or have the best time that day and get the yellow jersey. Each rider gets on his bike with 100 percent commitment to the team, and trusts that the commitment is reciprocated. They trust that when one man gets tired he can peel off from the lead, go to the end of the line, and a teammate will pick up the pace and the lead for the team. Each rider is peddling with confidence that when his time leading the pack is done, someone will take over giving him a rest.
I love the strategy that goes into each movement and the effect it will have on the outcome of this 21-day race thru France. They will ride over 2000 miles all as a team with the unified goal to get their leader in yellow over the finish line with the best overall time for 21 days of riding.
I even love the support teams. This part of the team gets little mention and certainly no front-page glory. But, if one of the riders gets a flat tire, the support teammates will have it changed in seconds. I’ve seen a support team member literally hang out of the window of a car going some 30 miles an hour alongside a rider to make an adjustment to the rear gears of that rider’s bike just so the team didn’t suffer a setback.
I love to see the riders push themselves. They can peddle up steep hills faster than some of us can run or walk. These guys have trained with passion for the greatest cycling race in the world.
I love the way they get up after a crash. Remember, they’re going as fast as they can, sometimes at speeds of 40 miles per hour and more. If they crash, it’s just them and the pavement. But, if they’re able, they get right back up even though their clothing might be ripped to shreds and their legs or arms bleeding. They get up because it is their passion to finish the greatest cycling race in the world.
I love how each one cheers another’s accomplishments because they all know how much courage, grit and determination goes to riding a bicycle 2000 miles across France. They do it knowing only one man will win, but all who compete can say they participated in the greatest cycling race in the world and they made it to the finish line. Now that’s what I call bragging rights!
Today is Monday and there are a few days of racing left. So, get yourself out of bed around 5:00 a.m. (PST) and witness a great event where people are doing what they love with a commitment to go as hard as they can with all that they can. They are playing to win for themselves and for their team. What the heck have you done today for your team?
I love it when a team works as one to accomplish great goals. If your team is missing something like passion, commitment or the Play-to-Win attitude, maybe it’s time you did something different…