We’re only human
As well as logistics, training and race strategy, much of a sports director’s role involves managing the different personalities that make up a pro team, as Israel Start-up Nation’s Cherie Pridham explains
Once the festive period is out of the way, most teams will hold warmweather training camps somewhere like Spain or the Canary Islands. It’s an exciting time as everyone gets to meet the new arrivals to the team, and long-standing friendships between teammates are rekindled. Plus of course everyone gets to sample the new kit and equipment out on the road.
For the DS, it’s an opportunity to assess all the riders in a training setting.
Have the young riders improved with another year under their belt? How do the new recruits shape up against the existing riders? Are the seasoned professionals as hungry and motivated as you would like?
Off the bike it’s important to see who among the new riders quickly settles into their new team and who may need an experienced hand to guide them through their early days. Everyone’s different and some may feel it’s like the first day at a new school, while others integrate themselves quickly. On the Worldtour a lot of the riders know each other and with the seemingly constant changing of teams, some riders will be rejoining those they have ridden with in the past. It’s the same for me, as I will soon be settling into my new team, Lotto Soudal. The training camp is a great opportunity for me to get to know the other sporting directors as well as the riders and staff. Trying to remember everyone’s name will certainly be a challenge for the first few days.
While it might seem like an odd thing to say, you have to remember that pro cyclists are human beings and have the same feelings and insecurities as everyone else. Some may have concerns and issues away from the bike and it’s down to the sporting director to spend as much time with his or her riders to better understand these issues. After all, a happy and contented rider is far more likely to perform at their optimum level than one with an issue in the back of their mind.
For instance, I love travelling and being away with the team at races.
Some riders however, particularly the ones with young families, can get a little homesick. That’s a perfectly normal reaction and one that if you are aware of you can deal with more effectively.
In an ideal world you want everyone happy mentally and working as part of a team in a positive environment, and it’s part of my job to work away in the background to make sure that happens. We all know that if we are happy we are likely to perform at our best.
That said, you can’t change people overnight. If someone is a natural loner you aren’t going to change them into being the life and soul of the party over the length of a training camp. But it is important to identify those who may be that way inclined so you can help them on their way. I have always found though that a standout performance by a rider or the team as a whole is a pretty good catalyst for team bonding.
Then there are the superstitious riders who, having experienced success, try to replicate everything in future races such as putting on their clothes in a certain order or eating the same food or wearing the same jersey. It’s socks for me! If we win a race, I will always ensure that I wear the same pair – until the good fortune eventually runs out, of course.
Every team will have its own prima donna. This could be an experienced rider who has been there and done it over the years and feels that they have nothing to prove, or it could be a very confident youngster who thinks he’s the next Eddy Merckx.
My stance has always been to deal with everyone in the same way. I aim to treat people with respect and professionalism and take time to talk to them, and listen, so I can better understand them and how they tick.
This is the key to how to manage them, and it means I will treat a big star like Chris Froome in the same way I will our young neo pros. We’re all human and need to be treated as such.
You can’t change people overnight. If someone is a natural loner you aren’t going to change them into being the life and soul of the party over the length of a training camp