PERSPECTIVES
WHAT THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS CAN TEACH US ABOUT CYCLING
It was 2008. I had £500 to get my first jersey sample made, and I didn’t really have a backup plan. In the 12 years since, what started with a risky dip into my race winnings has become Le Col - a clothing brand that is used by riders like Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins, employs over 30 people and equips riders around the world.
The global pause that coronavirus has brought about has caused me to reflect on that time. It’s a tough situation right now for business, and the only difference between then and now is the time we’ve had to grow, to weather such storms as best we can.
Thinking back to those early days, it’s intimidating how high stakes every decision was. Over time, you get more comfortable with risk - navigating it is what life and business are about. From leaving school without qualifications but with a dogged insistence that I was going to make it as a racer, to starting a clothing brand without any idea about what it took. I’ve always been driven, but I’ve learned that making things work is more about momentum.
I built Le Col through the contacts and knowledge from my own pro career. Despite our French name and Italian factory, Le Col is a British brand at heart. Expanding awareness is a challenge, but through platforms like Strava, we’ve been able to engage with cyclists around the world in ways that weren’t possible even 10 years ago. Doing things differently is the most exciting part of what we do.
Strength also comes in the name you make for yourself through partnerships. Six months into our venture with McLaren, we’ve delivered kit for their WorldTour team and are spending time in the wind tunnel. Partnerships like this demonstrate the benefit of doing things differently. Linking the world of F1 to cycling and bringing that insight and innovation to what can be a closed universe are where the cuttingedge advances come from.
We could have partnered with more traditional teams but if we took the step to WorldTour, it had to cause some noise. We needed eyes from outside. It’s that approach that has allowed us to move fast in the current climate. While the races are traditionally the power behind pro cycling, we’ve been able to work with our team to explore new avenues to bring riders and racers together - and that’s been one of the most interesting developments to come out of covid-19.
The benefit of such partnerships is the expectation of growth, and not just financially. We have to keep progressing. There’s no room for complacency - every day there are new brands that are just as hungry as I was and am, and the big brands are still there. Our product team is always looking for the next material, assessing what other brands are doing, and working with our partners to see the things we’d not thought of to actively improve people’s riding experience.
Of course, there are missteps along the road, but they’re potholes rather than pitfalls, and any good peloton works together to point those out. Even so, you still pick up the occasional pinch puncture from time to time. As someone who raced and is proud to say they were a pro, when I ride with friends from back then, I need to be able to look them in the eye and say that the kit we’re making is absolutely the best it could possibly be.
Whilst the waters are rocky right now, I take a lot of strength from what I’m seeing through my kitchen window. I read the numbers of cars on the streets during this lockdown are the lowest they’ve been for 65 years. Many people are picking up bikes, enjoying putting wheels to the road in some beautiful spring weather. Riders are discovering indoor training, and the strength that it can add to form. While we mourn the lack of pro racing and its spectacle, we’re all taking it upon ourselves to reconnect with why we love cycling - the simple action of turning the pedals.