July 30, 2024
For sports fans, July 2024 may have brought anticipation for the Olympics, the Copa America or Euro Cup, or the MLB All-Star game.
For me, it was the Tour de France – which this year included a second go at the attempt of my favorite cyclist, Mark Cavendish, to become the solo record holder for winning the most stages in the Tour. This included a lot of nervousness for any “Cav” fans – since his last attempt resulted in him crashing out of the race with a broken collarbone last July. If something like that happened again, we all knew he might retire with the still commendable feat of co-owning the record with cycling legend Eddy Merckx.
I could go on and on about why I love Mark Cavendish, a 39-year-old sprinter from the Isle of Man whose explosive sprints earlier in his career earned him the nickname the “Manx missile.”
He’s admittedly not bad on the eyes, but I think I really started loving him when I saw him in person the first time at the 2011 Tour de France. He’s just about my height – making me even more amazed he could throw his body and bike into the chaos of a bunch sprint and come out victorious so often. The ability to ride a bike explosively banging shoulder to shoulder with others amazes me in general; my short stint as a bike racer earned me the nickname the “mountain goat,” since I could only be competitive in a race that involved some sort of long uphill climb. Mark is also now the 2nd oldest rider to win a stage in the Tour after winning his 35th stage earlier this month (yes, he broke the record, for those of you who managed to miss the big news!) He’s still a lot younger than me but I guess I can also relate to trying to hang with people who are younger and spryer.
I had been working and out to dinner on day 5 of the Tour, the day that seemed like an ideal stage for Cav to make a go at it. I put myself on a news blackout (one benefit of being a cycling fan: there aren’t many friends who will be texting news about the sport…) and woke up on the 4th of July to watch the replay, forcing myself to watch the opening and the long stretches of the peloton riding along, despite just wanting to fast forward to the end.
It was clear a few kilometers from the finish after a great set up by his team that Cav had the perfect opportunity to win, and I started pounding my couch and yelling like I do during Duke basketball games. I even started crying as they entered the last K, which continued as he pulled off a vintage Mark Cavendish sprint and crossed the line first – conveniently beating the racer who was considered the best sprinter in last year’s Tour. I was ecstatically happy, more than I’d been in weeks given news of the world and work projects bogging me down.
Still on an emotional high the next day, I went out on my bike to clear my head for a report I was writing for work (I often do this and end up writing strategy memos in my head sparked by adrenaline) and instead started “writing” this post on what I’ve learned from Sir Mark, with lessons I might apply to my life and business:
Mark commented in his post-win interview that his often allowed him to outperform competitors with far better physical abilities. My own very amateur athletic career was also defined by this trait, going back to my time as a runner in high school, doing the Ironman in 2008 and three years of bike racing which I started impulsively after I was told I had to suddenly stop running after 20 years. But I’m not sure this trait defines me so much at work – so how can I bring more of this into my work persona, including the not always easy job of building and running a small business?
Mark faced down many doubters and haters including some who were commentating on the Tour during the U.S. broadcast up until minutes before he broke the record. I’m guessing he’s one of those athletes who was motivated by negative energy, but it was obvious these later years of his career that he was also fueled by the positive energy he got from family, friends and a team who still believed in him. There are obvious lessons to learn here.
It’s been implied over the years that I’m a little too competitive in casual games and sports, and my latest strength finder assessment a few years ago actually spit out “competitive” as my most defining trait. While I believe competitiveness has its place, it works best with a plan and a team structure built around it – something I need to be conscious of given my worldview that the field I work in has too many inefficiencies due to competition and not enough planning and collaboration.
This was one of my favorite things I read about Mark’s record-breaking stage win. Hands down this is a set of traits I want to strive for in both my personal and work life!
I don’t cry often and it’s usually due to intense joy (or if not, then anger about some sort of personal or world injustice). For some reason, I don’t often let myself feel the former – yet it feels so good. From now on, I am going to strive to find more moments like this especially during the times the world feels heavy and do my best to pay it forward by sharing that joy with colleagues and friends.
