Category Archives: Henrik’s Wheel

Out of the Pyrenees

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Tuesday is the last day in the Pyrenees, with a Category One (more difficult) and an Out of Category (HC) climb (most difficult). After today, the Tour de France says goodbye to the peaks that border between France and Spain. It is now that we see the physiological differences between the riders. After 17 days, the weak riders are cracking and peeling off. The field of 189 now stands at 158. Even Monday’s rest day cannot help 31 riders who have blown out.

Yet, the strong riders are getting stronger. Their lungs are fuller, muscles grown larger, their hearts are pumping more blood than the first day down the ramp at the opening time trial.

And I thought about teams, teams at work, your teams at work. Here is what I see. Most teams, under pressure, prolonged pressure, begin to crack and peel away, burnt out. Yet, a few teams get stronger.

And I began to ponder, “What’s the difference?” What are the elements of a team that doesn’t get burnt out, that goes the distance and emerges stronger than when they started? Think about teams you are a member of. What is the critical element that makes that team strong?

I have a book, The Power of Attitude, autographed by the author, Mac Anderson, for the best post. See you tomorrow after Stage 16. -TF

Building a Team, Quickly

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Saturday was a scary day for Team Discovery. One man cannot win the Tour de France, it takes a team. As the pace churned up, T-Mobile maneuvered successfully to separate Lance Armstrong from his team. Their three top riders, Jan Ullrich, Andreas Kloden and Alexandre Vinokourov blistered ahead, dropping all but the elite riders. Lance was separated alone against three. The strategy from that point was simple. The three T-Mobile riders could simply rotate attacks, forcing Lance to catch them, eventually wearing him down. Lance was alone with no team members in sight.

Levi Leipheimer, also an American, but riding for Team Gerolsteiner, found himself in the same boat. In the middle of an attack, without water in a scorching heat, Levi had to make a decision. Stay with the attack or drop back and fetch water. Either way, he risked getting blown out of the race. Head down, against the melting pavement, he drove forward to catch.

Lance reached down and handed Levi a bottle. Lance needed a team. Levi needed a team. Floyd Landis (PHO) offered another bottle and now they were three Musketeers against the trio from T-Mobile. They wore different jerseys, but they swore a short allegiance to fend off the attacks.

Ultimately, Lance was successful on the day, gaining significant precious seconds on Jan Ullrich. If he had not stopped for a small bit of teambuilding, things might have been very different. You can read the entire story from reporter Michael Dugard with Florida Sports.

Tuesday marks the last day in the Pyranees. Lance is one step closer to Seven. -TF

Standings after Stage 15

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 62:09:59.000 00:00:00.000

2 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 62:12:45.000 00:02:46.000

3 057 RASMUSSEN, Mickael DEN RAB 62:13:08.000 00:03:09.000

4 011 ULLRICH, Jan GER TMO 62:15:57.000 00:05:58.000

5 031 MANCEBO, Francisco ESP IBA 62:16:30.000 00:06:31.000

6 164 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA GST 62:17:34.000 00:07:35.000

7 066 LANDIS, Floyd USA PHO 62:19:32.000 00:09:33.000

8 019 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ TMO 62:19:37.000 00:09:38.000

9 101 MOREAU, Christophe FRA C.A 62:21:46.000 00:11:47.000

10 014 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER TMO 62:22:00.000 00:12:01.000

Reserve Power – On to the Pyrenees

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Three people have worn the Yellow Jersey through Stage 12 of this year’s Tour de France. David Zabriskie (CSC) was the first immediately out of the prologue, besting Lance Armstrong (DSC) by 2 seconds. He crashed in Stage 4 and abandoned the race in Stage 9. Armstrong took the jersey from Stage 4 to Stage 8, when he handed it over to Jens Voigt (CSC). Voigt’s reign was short-lived losing 31 minutes to Lance in Stage 10. Voigt was eliminated from the race in Stage 11 by time disqualification. Stage 12 also saw the exit of Tom Boonen (QST) who had captured first place in Stages 2 and 3 and second place in Stage 5. The carnage continues.

The winners during Week One finished looking like they had just bounded out for a short morning ride. The face on each of the riders is now looking gaunt and haggard. Yet every morning, they clip in and push each other down the road. The Pyrenees begin on Saturday with two of the toughest climbs, followed by six climbs on Sunday.

The breakaways and the attacks on the lead group continually test their reserve power. At the end, in Paris, it will be the team possessing reserve power, when all the rest are spent, who still can dig for more energy. How does this happen? It is a simple program of testing the body to failure, then resting.

In the organizations I visit, I constantly watch both, individual performers and teams, who possess different depths of reserve power. Those teams who can ratchet up performance to meet demand are those teams who have practiced and trained to failure, then rested. Then trained to failure at a higher point, then rested. They constantly push their maximum. At the other end of the spectrum are those teams whose minimums are practiced, and over time, their minimum becomes their maximum. Where is your team? How do you stretch your team to higher levels of performance? -TF

End of Stage 12

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 46:30:36.000 00:00:00.000

2 057 RASMUSSEN, Mickael DEN RAB 46:31:14.000 00:00:38.000

3 101 MOREAU, Christophe FRA C.A 46:33:10.000 00:02:34.000

4 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 46:33:16.000 00:02:40.000

5 038 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP IBA 46:33:52.000 00:03:16.000

6 061 BOTERO, Santiago COL PHO 46:34:24.000 00:03:48.000

7 164 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA GST 46:34:34.000 00:03:58.000

8 031 MANCEBO, Francisco ESP IBA 46:34:36.000 00:04:00.000

9 011 ULLRICH, Jan GER TMO 46:34:38.000 00:04:02.000

10 014 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER TMO 46:34:52.000 00:04:16.000

Quiet Power of Fundamentals

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Christophe Mengin pulled away from the peleton at 23.5km into today’s race. He pounded through wind and rain for four hours, at times extending his lead beyond 8:00 minutes. In the end, the peleton caught him. With less than 500 meters in the race and the lead down to ten seconds, Alexandre Vinokourov launched from the pack to overtake the lone survivor. From the helicopter, you could see Mengin stretch into a hard right turn and, on the rain-slick pavement, go skidding across two lanes into the barriers.

The ensuing chaos saw riders pile up left and right. The top sprinters, positioned for the final gallop, found themselves upside down or skeetering around.

“Where’s Lance? Where’s Lance?”

Except for the time trials earlier in the week, these first stages have been fodder for sprinters, the top teams always up front, always launching their guns at the finish. Team Discovery quietly goes about its work. It keeps the pace quick but refrains from the frenetic and dangerous conclusions at the line. They have focused on speed in the time trials and keeping Lance safe during each race.

It’s not flash, it’s fundamentals. Quiet power and speed. In the overall standings, Team Discovery occupies five of the top eight places, with Lance Armstrong in Yellow and his teammate George Hincapie right behind.

So often, as Managers, we look for flashy sprint behavior to make our mark, but it is the quiet power of fundamentals that truly spells success. As a Manager, where do you focus your team?

Standings after Stage 6

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 17:58:11.000

2 004 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 17:59:06.000

3 019 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ TMO 17:59:13.000

4 028 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 17:59:15.000

5 023 JULICH, Bobby USA CSC 17:59:18.000

6 008 RUBIERA, José Luis ESP DSC 17:59:25.000

7 007 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 17:59:27.000

8 005 NOVAL GONZALEZ, Benjamin ESP DSC 17:59:37.000

9 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 17:59:37.000

10 022 ARVESEN, Kurt-Asle NOR CSC 17:59:43.000

My hat is off to OLN for their coverage of the Tour. I am trying to stay way back on this side of the hill as far as reporting the “action” while looking for insights that illustrate this small study of management. For those who are interested, detailed coverage of the TDF is available at www.olntv.com.

Honor for the Game

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David Zabriskie had worn the Yellow Jersey since Day One of the Tour. During Tuesday’s team time trial, he crashed his bike out of the stage and into the barriers, costing him almost :90 seconds to the finish.

While this clearly placed Lance Armstrong into the Yellow Jersey on Tuesday, he refused to start the race on Wednesday wearing Yellow. His gesture was out of respect and deference to young David Zabriskie. “Armstrong felt it was no way to take the lead away from him,” described Phil Liggett in his daily wrap-up.

And so we learn lessons about Honor for the Game. In the book Double Goal Coach, Jim Thompson talks about Honoring the Game, something far more than simple sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is mainly about restraining bad behavior. “Don’t yell at the officials, don’t thumb your nose at the losers.” Honoring the Game goes beyond sportsmanship to “energize and motivate people to live up to their best, rather than being simply constrained from acting down to their worst.”

Today, we saw Honor for the Game. Of course, Tour officials saw things a little differently and threatened to disqualify Lance should he not don the Jersey, so he eventually complied.

As a Manager in your organization, how do you teach your team members Honor for the Game? -TF

Tour Standings after Stage 5

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 13:45:12.000

2 004 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 13:46:07.000

3 028 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 13:46:16.000

4 023 JULICH, Bobby USA CSC 13:46:19.000

5 008 RUBIERA, José Luis ESP DSC 13:46:26.000

6 007 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 13:46:28.000

7 019 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ TMO 13:46:33.000

8 005 NOVAL GONZALEZ, Benjamin ESP DSC 13:46:38.000

9 029 ZABRISKIE, David USA CSC 13:46:38.000

10 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 13:46:38.000

For complete coverage, visit www.olntv.com.

Tour Notes – Stage One

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Lance saw the rider ahead and became fixed on the target. Jan Ullrich had started :60 seconds ahead in the individual time trial, a race against the clock. As Lance approached, Jan might as well have been standing still. It was an awesome display of fitness. There is much ballyhoo about whose bike weighs the least, or the most precise aerodynamic position, but this race was about fitness.

Back at the office.
As managers, we look at our team members in several dimensions, product knowledge, technical skill, technique and attitude. Yet, often, success is determined by fitness, both physical and mental fitness. Team members pull ahead in their performance because they can. Others drop away or drag across the finish line.

Serious as a heart attack.
Do you have conversations with your team members about their physical health, nutrition, work-out routines and mental focus? One dimension of performance depends on fitness. As a manager, what do you demand from your team? What kind of example do you set? -TF

Head Down Doing the Work

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The pace line was threading its way along the beach route. Our morning ritual had six bikes one behind the other holding 22 mph into a stiff headwind. I was second in line behind my favorite draft. As our speed climbed to 23, I shifted forward, watching my rpms move to 101.

Second on the paceline carries responsibility. While the lead certainly has more visibility for road hazards (cars, potholes, water), second position is the backup. The lead sometimes gets head down doing the work into the wind and fails to focus forward. Often, second position is relied upon to catch road hazards missed by the lead. Sometimes, it’s just a wake-up call to the front.

Head down doing the work can be dangerous. That’s why it takes a team. Take a look at your team. How often do things get overlooked? How often does the big picture fade away because everyone has their head down doing the work?

Sometimes, you have to look up. If you are the lead, that’s you. Make sure your second is looking, too. It takes all eyes. -TF

Possibility of Failure

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Henrik is in the middle of doing something remarkable. An important goal is one in which there is always the possibility of failure. Most cyclists gear their training to relatively short distances between 20-40 miles. With more experience, the thought of a Metric Century Ride looms. Most cyclists can push their way to 62 miles.

Finishing a US Century (100 miles) becomes the standard for pushing the limits of recreational riding. It is the Holy Grail of most cycling enthusiasts.

Ask Henrik why he rides further. He will tell you that the possibility of failure at 100 miles is minimal. To truly stretch, there has to be the possibility of failure. Enter Randonneuring. Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling. This year, it’s qualifying events started with a mild 200K, around 124 miles (Jan). The 300K clocked out around 186 miles (Feb). The 400K on Saturday, March 19, runs 240 miles. At this point, the typical question is, “in one day?” The answer is yes.

The next event will be a 600K which translates to 372 miles (April). The last qualifier before the big ride is a 1000K, 620 miles (May). The final event is a 1200K running 744 miles with a 90 hour finish cutoff. Yes, Henrik will sleep somewhere in the middle, but only about 4 hours.

When you look at your stretch goals, what do you see? An important goal is one in which there is always the possibility of failure. See you on the bike. -TF

Catching the Draft

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I am approaching my favorite turnaround, knowing the distance will put me and my bike at 42 miles when I get home. Riding by myself, into the wind, has kept me at a modest 19mph, looking forward to the tailwind on the return. As I pull up to the final traffic light, I notice my regular riding group in the distance. They went long early this morning, already on their return, barreling with the wind. Running an easy pace of 22, they blow by me as I round the turn, hopelessly behind, twenty yards, forty yards, sixty yards.

Even with the wind, fatigue keeps me at 21mph as the group continues to pull away. Then I see Henrik off the back. He has slowed down, waiting for me to catch him. As I slide beneath the protective draft of Henrik’s wheel, my speedometer hits 23. Two minutes later, we are together with the pace line, inside the narrow cone of calm.

What happens when a member of your team gets hopelessly behind? Will one of the stronger members drop off to bring someone along? Have you created a protocol in your company that describes when and how this happens? Do you have a formal coaching or mentoring program integrated with team training?

If I can only catch Henrik’s wheel, he will pull me back to the group. -TF

Bon-bons and Fried Calamari

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When I woke up, I knew I was in trouble. I had promised Henrik a 100 mile ride today and I was not in the right condition. The weather had been poor the previous week, so I had trained short. I was in sleep deficit by six hours over the past four days. I had slacked off my diet, eating bon-bons and fried calamari. Today would require peak performance and I was nowhere near my peak.

The warmup was easy, straight downwind with a 16mph tail. Holding an even 20mph pace was effortless. Fifteen miles into the ride, we made a u-turn at Las Olas and turned north, directly into the wind. A pace of 18mph into a wind of 16mph was a 34mph gentle breeze in the face. Hunkering into a compact profile, hiding between the condo towers swirling the blustery weather, we made our way mile by mile. It was just head down, holding cadence until mile 46.

That’s when my knee began a dull throb. I call it tennis elbow, but point to my knee. The pain makes you want to stop, but when you slack the pressure, the pain becomes worse, and we will had 54 miles to go. Our turn into the nose of the wind would last until mile 62.

I was looking forward to the West Palm Beach inlet turnaround. The wind, which had been our foe, would now become our friend. The 18mph pace had been slow and grueling. One mile short, Henrik spotted a pair of riders already traveling south. A week earlier, they had pulled Henrik up to Jupiter inlet. “If we can make the turn and come back to catch them, they can help us,” Henrik shouted to me. He was hammer down and I, behind, had no choice but to grit my teeth and go with.

We caught the pair, but they were on a Saturday recovery ride and in no mood to pick up the pace. Our efforts had moved us down the road, but we were on our own again and 40 miles from home. My legs hurt, my butt hurt, my knee hurt. It did not matter, I was still 40 miles from home.

At mile 85, the blustery skies opened up and it started pouring rain. Our agreement to seek shelter in the event of a storm was abandoned. We were too far along and only 15 miles to go. My glasses were spattered with rain drops and mud. The road grime on my jersey was melting away, the rear wheel throwing water and debris up from the backside. One hundred miles came none too soon. All I could think of was getting a hot shower.

Being a manager, often, the going gets tough. You have decisions to make, problems to work through, material shortages, work delays. Fitness, in my mind, is one of the six dimensions of performance. It has an impact on how well you perform, as a manager. How is your nutrition, how well do you sleep, how consistent is your training (yes, managers need to train)? When the going gets tough and peak performance is required, how close are you to your peak? -TF