Key to win a Tour de France stage: Think Different

Riad KACED
Jul 22, 2017 · 2 min read
credit: letour.fr

Le Tour De France is the world’s premier cycling race, a grueling test of human endurance with about two hundred riders competing for the Holy Grail: the top spot on the Champs-Élysées podium in Paris. Together, all the riders with their different team jerseys form a kaleidoscope of moving colors on wheels through the picturesque French countryside, making the tour one of the most beautiful sporting shows in the world.

While cycling is an individual sport in a sense that every rider pushes his own pedals, the rider’s individual triumph is the result of a remarkable team work. Winning a stage is a business that requires riders and team managers to be at the top of their game, with the best team strategy, and course planning.

Today’s stage is the longest of the tour, stretching over 222km through the splendid Provence region. Norwegian cyclist Edvald Boasson Hagen won the stage in a very epic way, teaching us a very important lesson that we all should apply in our lives: Think Different.

With less than 3km to the finish line, the race was being led by nine breakaway riders, seven of whom went left at a large roundabout, blindly following the Tour’s leading motorbike. Two riders however, including the winner choose to go on the right — the shorter way — and opened a sizable gap that led our hero to an undisputed solo win. Watch the video.

Edvald’s timely move, and the win that followed, was the result of careful planning and scrutiny. The team had studied the entire course and figured this very small detail that allowed the winner to gain a few meters over his competitors at a time that was very crucial in the race. It is also critical to notice the importance of focus while executing the plan, the winner stayed very sharp and did not loose attention at the roundabout, which is very challenging after over five hours of extraordinary efforts that strain both the body and the mind.

Good planning, paying attention to details and executing with focus are key ingredients for success. Don’t be a follower, think different and make your own path !

PS: Not a cyclist? No worries, check out this great Le Tour de France for newbies, you will love it

References

  1. Keep right: How Edvald Boasson Hagen won stage 19 of the 2017 Tour de France
  2. Tour de France 2017: Edvald Boasson Hagen wins stage 19 — as it happened
  3. Le Tour de France for newbies

Riad KACED

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Citizen of the world, Human rights activist and social justice advocate

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