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The Peloton on Col d'Aspin - Tour de France 2015

9 Life Lessons from the Tour de France

To survive this epic three-week endurance race requires more than just physical fitness, what can we learn from the rider’s experience?

The Tour de France, is a magnificent sporting event, but also so much more. Sometimes referred to as ‘chess on wheels’ the tactics, team work, dramatic failures and stunning successes allow us to observe in close-up many of the challenges of human life played out in the microcosm of this spectacular race.

 

Expend your energy wisely

Seeing opportunities to rest is a skill as important as knowing when to attack. Monitoring energy levels, managing tiredness and re-fuelling strategically are the only ways to survive, let alone win, the Tour de France. A frequently used cycling analogy is that you start each day with a bag of coins – how many you have got depends on things like your sleep, your diet and your mental energy – you can drip them away, spending them slowly on small efforts throughout the day or you can hoard them to expend them on one big ‘purchase’ like attacking hard on a final climb. In racing, as in life, it’s all about keeping your eye on the prize and not wasting energy or being side-tracked.

 

No one can win at everything

There are several races within races; the yellow jersey is for the person who completes the race in the least accumulated time, the green jersey is the points or sprinters jersey for whoever wins the most intermediate and stage-end sprints and the polka dot for the best climber.

These are all specialist skills and there will be parts of the race that allow climbers to dominate and parts where they will struggle. Watch a sprinter charge toward the line, shoulder to shoulder with another rider at 60kph and they look like heroes, see them struggling over a climb, way behind the front of the races and suddenly they look much more human. The secret is discovering your own talents and finding a role that allows you to shine whilst recognising you can’t be good at everything.

 

Nice guys do win sometimes

Not only do nice guys win sometimes but when they do their friends and their rivals take pleasure in their success. One of the most touching interviews of this year’s race was with Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) a surprise stage one winner and the first yellow jersey holder of the race, he described how other riders came up to him in the bunch the next day to congratulate him, including the top riders and former race winners. Having his childhood heroes know his name was one of the greatest emotions of having the yellow jersey he said.

 

Strategic planning plays off

Team INEOS as we know are masters of planning and preparation. The often touted ‘marginal gains’ attitude means that every tiny little aspect of the riders lives during the tour are controlled and monitored.  From how much they pee, when they drink and even the pillow they sleep on at night, it has all been researched and carefully thought about.

The upshot of this is SKY (before they became INEOS) produced three Tour de France winners. It’s a lesson we can all follow – as Brailsford has been quoted saying many times “anything that can be measured can be controlled” and controlling the controllable is what Team INEOS does best. One of the best ways of reducing stress and anxiety is by knowing the difference between what you can control, and doing something about it, and what you can’t.

 

But so does going with your gut

Control, strategy, preparation and planning is the route to success but there is still a place for the ‘guts and glory’ approach of seeing an opportunity and responding to it faster than anyone else around you. Mike Teunisson’s stage one win is a case in point – when his team leader crashed out and he saw that the other top sprinters around him were tiring, instead of backing off he pushed harder. He had nothing to lose, no pressure on him as he wasn’t the team leader expected to compete in the sprint, and everything to gain. Even if you are in the right place at the right time, seizing an unexpected opportunity takes confidence and self-belief to act.

 

Group solidarity can make life easier for everyone.

When pro riders need to go for a pee during a stage they all stop together, it’s never (thankfully) caught on camera but at an appropriate moment a large number of riders will stop together to relieve themselves by the side of the road. One rider stopping for a pee would have a hard job of chasing back to the bunch on their own, when 50 stop it makes life easier for everyone.

 

No one can keep their foot on the gas all the time

Three weeks is a long time to sustain physical and mental focus and no one can ride at their limits for every moment of it. What you won’t see in the highlights package is the steady miles where riders are eating their snacks or chatting with their mates, someone might be away in the break having their moment of glory but for others it could be an easy day. This isn’t laziness it’s tactical, saving their energy for the moments when it counts. It’s ok to cruise sometimes and let others take the load.

 

Sometimes you have to work with your rivals

The success of a break away is dependent on all the riders in it working together and taking their turn at the front to share the job of cutting through the wind. Sometimes there will be more than one team represented and rival team riders have a choice to make – work together and make it stick or start in-fighting and almost certainly get swallowed up by the bunch behind. The decision is often to work together until the success of the break is assured. You can’t always pick your team but recognising that everyone benefits from working together is the easiest way to get the job done.

 

People only notice your highs and lows

Cheering crowds love spectacular failures as much as they do winning moments, the parts that don’t get applauded are the hours of steady, often monotonous consistent effort. Sometimes our lives, especially our working lives, can feel like one long plod – or the first 180km of a 200km flat stage – but those often unnoticed and sometimes boring hours are an essential part of the overall experience. It’s not the lows that make the highs stand out – it is the flat bits in between.

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Written By:

Emily Pheysey

Litigation Executive

Emily has over 7 years of experience in the legal sector, handling road traffic accident claims to recover compensation and support her clients. Her focus is to ensure all clients feel comfortable and at ease with the claims process so that they can focus on their recovery.

Emily considers rapport to be an essential part of the role and strives to always provide excellent client care.

Away from work, Emily enjoys spending time with her family and friends and travelling as much possible.

Diane Holderness

Litigation Executive

Diane is a Ministry of Justice (TOJ) Team Leader within our Cycle Department. She has 11 years’ experience managing road traffic accident claims, and 6 years’ experience managing MOJ claims.

Diane enjoys a challenge and always strives for the very best results for her customers; something that is clear in the way her team continually adapts its strategies in order to secure the most desired outcome. Diane has worked her way through the legal ranks here, and is proud to now have a strong, specialist team that is committed to customer satisfaction.

Diane believes that happy clients make a happy working environment, and it is this that ensures a productive and efficient workforce.

Nina Haddock

Chartered Legal Executive

Nina has over 30 years’ experience in the legal sector. She specialises in recovering compensation for injury claimants as a result of road traffic accidents. Her focus for each and every claim is to help her clients secure the funding that they need to pay for ongoing treatment and support.

Nina became a CILEX Fellow in 2006 and now helps her clients and their families at a time when they have been through a traumatic experience, and everything they hold dear to them appears to be changing.

One case Nina is particularly proud of is supporting a client who had successfully sought asylum in the UK, following a road traffic accident. The claim was successfully pursued through the MIB and the client was left with significant injuries. Her client was able to use the compensation to aid family members with their applications to seek asylum in the UK.

Julian Fox

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Julian qualified as a Solicitor in 2005 and has worked in all areas of personal injury since 2000. Julian has a well-rounded understanding of personal injury law, having represented both claimants and defendants.

Julian always aims for maximum damages to meet his clients’ needs for injury and rehabilitation expenses, and can often secure interim payments to help meet clients’ financial needs. Julian is highly proactive in ensuring cases are progressed, ensuring a timely conclusion.

When not at the office, Julian is a keen cyclist, both on roads and virtually -he will often do an hour of ‘Zwifting’ in the mornings before starting work.

Richard Atherton

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Richard has 12 years of legal experience and qualified as a Solicitor in February 2014. He has been a Team Manager with us since 2019. Throughout his career, Richard has specialised in personal injury, handling an array of Road Traffic Accident cases, in addition to employer and public liability.

Richard prides himself on his very strong strategic and planning skills, which come into their own in complex injury cases where more technical arguments are involved. On every case, he is committed to ensuring that his clients receive full compensation for their injuries.

Away from work, Richard enjoys sport; he is a season ticket holder at St Helens Rugby Club and a Liverpool FC fan. Not only a spectator, Richard also likes going to play golf as often as he can.

Dave Gardner

Litigation Executive

Dave has over 20 years of experience in the legal sector. His specialism is personal injury and he has dealt with hundreds of cycling injury claims during his career. Excellent client care and communication is paramount to Dave. He prides himself on being accessible and available, attending court hearings where damages are in dispute to ensure the best outcome for his clients. One case Dave is particularly proud of is when he supported an elderly client who suffered serious injuries following a road traffic incident. The police had not taken any action against the defendant, so Dave had to be proactive and act within a 24-hour window. The case proceeded and the client was in receipt of £30,000 in damages, which he would not have been entitled to had the client not approached Dave. He is also an avid supporter of Glasgow Rangers and travelled abroad on many occasions to see them play in European competitions.

Gerard Horton

Partner

Gerard is a Senior Solicitor at Cycle SOS. In his 13 years of experience, Gerard has built a national reputation in the catastrophic injury sector, dealing with high value and complex cases. Alongside his legal role, Gerard supports several charities including Headway Central Lancashire, Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre and spinal injury charity, Back Up.

Julia Eyton

Partner

Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Cycle SOS team.

Specialising in representing those who have had life changing injuries, Julia handles some of the most serious and complex personal injury cases both within Cycle SOS and nationally.

She often works on high value claims and is skilled in winning complex liability cases.

NADIA KERR

Partner

Nadia has over 30 years of legal expertise and has represented hundreds of vulnerable road users. With a focus on ensuring timely rehabilitation, speedy repair or replacement of bikes and kit, and securing fair compensation, Nadia is committed to advocating for justice and client rights. Alongside her legal career, Nadia actively participates in national campaigns to benefit vulnerable road users and acts as a Trustee/Director for the national cycling charity, Cycling UK. Nadia was named in Cycling UK’s ‘100 women’ and was a founding member, now running a women’s cycling group, TeamGlow in South Manchester. Among her many achievements, Nadia takes pride in her spot on BBC Breakfast, where she provided expert commentary on long term government funding for pothole repairs.

Caroline Morris

DIRECTOR OF SERIOUS INJURY

Caroline has specialised in personal injury for over 25 years, recovering more than £56 million in damages during that time, to help clients rebuild their lives after injury.

Caroline is committed to achieving rehabilitation options early, meaning her clients benefits from the best care and treatment at the earliest stage possible.