Marginal Gains: A Crucial Key of Team Sky’s Tour de France Streaks

Competitive Cyclist nowadays always find their own way to achieve success in this beautiful
sport. Most of them will upgrade their bicycle components or cycling gear. The rest usually will make
their own super training plans to prepare for another big season. Unlike Team Sky, this
British-Established professional super team used to believe in marginal gains to achieve their ultimate
goal since the team was established, which is to win Tour de France five times.

Many cyclist throughout the world thought that Team Sky is crazy. Well, they indeed crazy for a
little things to win the race. For instant, the Team caretakers will bring the rider’s mattres and pillows
to make sure that they have a good and confortable rest after a hard race. This matter indeed will
make the riders to have a fresh physical for the next day. Furthermore, based on their sports doctor,
the riders’ body mechanics already immune to their mattres and pillows to sleep well.

Most professional teams will race what the sponsors prepared for them. They will use it to
promote the sponsors’ brand and testing out their product. With the touch of a bit reaserch and
development between the sponsor and the riders, the sponsor company will always make their
product up to date and advancing from time to time. On the other hand, most of Team Sky riders
were from the track cycling background. The British Track Team have their own in-house classified
company called “UKSI Squirrel Project”. This secret company is used to do some research for the
Track Team and they also make their own ultra high grade cycling components and equipments that
would cost thousand pounds and above. For example, Most of the sponsored wheels they used was
heavily upgraded with ultra smooth ceramic bearings, which is strictly porhibited by the UCI
(International Cycling Union) Rules. One of their rider, Sir Bradley Wiggins recently smashed the
World Hour Record, with one weird thing installed on his bike, which is a custom waxed chain, in
collaboration with British company, Muc-Off Lubricants, that would cost three thousand pounds per
chain.

Upon this controversy, most professional teams and cyclists stood up to file a complaint to the
governing body of cycling, which is UCI, for discriminating their sponsor’s product. Unfortunately,
they cannot accused Team Sky such things because of their cheezy move to unbrand their own
components. This is the real mayhem happened to the cycling world since the establishment of Team
Sky. Most of the race throughout the season was controlled by them, without noticing which will
make the cycling race seems boring and dry. Once the team principal said that “Sometimes you have
to sacrifice something, even a little to achieve success in every aspect” - Sir David Brailsford.
WAN MOHAMMAD FAIZI FAHIM BIN WAN FAUZI

PPISMP BI SK (2) JUN 2016