Introducing "Food for Thought" #36. The formula is simple: three short messages once a week to feed your mind.
The Jumbo Visma professional cycling team, made up of talented riders such as Jonas Vingegaard (left) and Primoz Roglic (right), shone at the start of the year by winning two major tours: the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. The success of these two riders is due, in part, to their lieutenant, Sepp Kuss (center), who constantly supported them on the toughest climbs.
This year, for the third major tour of the season, the Tour of Spain, Jumbo had all three riders in their line-up. Clearly, the leader's role would fall to Roglic or Vingegaard, and Kuss would fulfill his usual role as lieutenant in the mountains. However, the race had other ideas. Kuss managed to break away in the early stages to take the red leader's jersey.
Faced with a highly unusual situation, what were Vingegaard and Roglic, who occupied 2nd and 3rd place in the standings, going to do? Would they attack their team-mate Kuss, who had the leader's jersey thanks to his exceptional performances, or would they transfer to the role of lieutenant to allow Kuss to win his first grand tour?
On a subsequent stage, on Kuss's birthday, Vingegaard and Roglic overtook their teammate on the final climb. A disgrace if you ask us! At the finish, Kuss had a meagre 9-second lead over Vingegaard in 2nd place!
The next day, another summit finish. All the media spotlights were on the team. In the end, Jumbo did the right thing and decided to protect Kuss on this last mountain stage. Kuss thus retained his red jersey to win the Tour of Spain, with his team-mates on the 2nd and 3rd steps of the podium.
This situation has highlighted several important lessons that we can learn as an organization.
Teamwork
Let others shine
Every individual success is a team effort. Without the support of Kuss, Roglic and Vingegaard would not have been able to shine in their previous victories in Italy and France. Sometimes, it's essential to let others shine for the good of the team. This requires a great deal of courage and humility on the part of the leader.
Leadership
The increased responsibility of management
When Vingegaard and Roglic decided to escape from their teammate Kuss, the role of management became essential. According to sources, it was team boss Richard Plugge who made the decision at a meeting after the famous stage where Kuss was dropped. As Plugge did, management must play the role of mediator, coach and strategist, ensuring that decisions taken serve the interests of the team as a whole, taking into account the mission, team cohesion and image of the organization.
Impact
Doing the right thing for the world
This decision was acclaimed by all cycling fans, as Jumbo went from zero to hero. It was the right thing to do for the team, the community, and above all, for cycling fans. Winning three grand tours with three different riders is a great story, a feat not seen since 1966! However, the fairytale story is that Kuss won in Spain, after allowing Vingegaard and Roglic to triumph in France and Italy!
