- Dave Brailsford took over as the Performance Director of Great Britain’s professional cycling team in 2010.
- No British cyclist had ever won the Tour de France until that time.
- Tour de France was first organised in 1903, and it remains the most prestigious cycling competition in the world.
- Brailsford developed a concept that he referred to as “aggregation of marginal gains”.
- He explained it as improving all aspects of professional cycling by just 1%.
- First, he and his team started optimising the most obvious things: the cyclists’ diet, training programs, ergonomics of the seats and weights of the tyres.
- Then they dug deeper and worked on things that no one thought could impact the performance.
- They discovered the pillow that offered the best sleep and the best massage gel.
- The team took their pillows and massage gels wherever they went.
- They identified the best ways to wash hands to reduce the risk of infection.
- They also introduced perfectly heated outfits to keep the muscles at the perfect temperature.
- Brailsford believed that with these changes, the team could win Tour de France within five years.
- They won it within three years — Sir Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France in 2012.
- Brailsford took this approach to train the British cycling team at the 2012 Olympic Games.
- And dominated the competition by winning 70 per cent of the gold medals available.
Image courtesy of Markus Spiske through Unsplash
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