The 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 commences Saturday with its 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷é𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 in Florence before heading into France a few days later. I love 𝐿𝑒 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟: the pageantry, spectacle, entertainment, athleticism, strategy, competition, personal stories, and the fact that—at our house—it often marks the beginning of summer. (NB: This year’s Tour starts earlier than unusual and ends in Nice due to Paris’ hosting of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in late July).
I know many love and follow professional cycling and its grand tours. I’ve been reflecting a bit on how 𝐿𝑒 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟 provides potent analogies for all of us in our lives – personal and professional:
1. Like the yellow jersey (GC, or general classification) contenders, we must all 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬, even when setbacks and challenges occur. This may mean losing some stages in order to win the race. It also means we can’t become demoralized when we have an off day—we get back on the bike and keep pushing with the long-term goal in mind.
2. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦. While we often focus on individual winners and personalities in professional cycling, the sport’s winners—whether in a stage, a sprint, a mountain climb, or otherwise—only get there through the support, backing, strategy, and protection of their team. Whatever successes we may achieve, we achieve them because of the individuals by whom we are surrounded. We all rely on teammates to get us to the top of the hill or the front of the sprint, or to the finish line in Paris (or, this year, Nice).
3. There are 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞. One of the most exciting things about a cycling grand tour is the races within the race. Of course, there’s the general classification overall leader (the maillot jaune, or yellow jersey), but each of the race’s 21(!) stages has a winner. Each stage also has intermediate competitions within it, including sprints, mountain ascents, the most aggressive rider, the fastest young rider, and the beloved 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔𝑒. In any endeavor we undertake, there are significant intermediate pieces that we must focus on, excel at, and do our best with. And when we fall short (which we will), we try again tomorrow—with (see # 1) the big picture in mind.
4. Humans 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. Finally, watch the crowds at these stages. The fans are intense! They provide encouragement, adrenaline, cheering, enthusiasm, and support from the sidelines as these remarkable athletes perform herculean feats. I believe all humans are fighting their hardest to get to the top of their proverbial ascents in life. We would all do well to more genuinely and frequently cheer one another on with passion, love, and respect—to help each other complete our own personal stages, whatever those may be.
Enjoy Le Tour! And 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 to everyone riding (and watching from home)!
Global Communications Director Image & Content | Opérations
2wJ’avais reconnu votre signature ! Bravo encore une magnifique création !