It’s Giro d’Italia time again. That there is such a big sporting event taking place does not prevent us from thinking of our friends and colleagues across the globe who are currently being severely impacted by Covid, but it hopefully shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Stage 3 had an early breakaway and Andrii Ponomar, the youngest rider in the race, bridged the gap from the peloton with a solo 10 kilometer chase to form the eight-man lead group – from which the eventual stage winner would emerge. In the excellent “Never Strays Far” podcast with David Millar and Ned Boulting, the latter added colour to the story by pointing out that when Ponomar joined the breakaway group his effort was recognised by several of the riders from different teams as well as by his own team mate.
We increasingly operate in a networked world, where teams are formed from a combination of disciplines, functions and suppliers. It is all too easy to be parochial and not recognise the bigger picture, often at the expense of both individual performance and the group objective.
The eight-man breakaway had a common goal, and as a group they knew how hard they were working to establish a lead. Although, as David Millar pointed out, the 10 kilometer effort probably left Ponomar on empty, it is the agile and fluid nature of the way that the breakaway team was built that is key. Recognising Ponomar’s efforts does not prevent the competition needed to push performance, but by being adaptable the team was better able to play to the strengths of individuals and the results followed. The stage winner won the race because he was in the breakaway group, every member of which played their part in his win.