I’m a believer in seeing what you can learn from pretty much everything around you.  I’m also always making analogies and looking for parallels.  So, given the fact that I’ve been wrapped up in watching the Tour de France the last 3 weeks, I wanted to share the five things I’ve learned from the Tour.  You can apply them pretty much anywhere – in sports, in life, in business, in love – wherever.  

1. There are rules and then there are “unwritten” rules – etiquette – that need to be followed to play fair.  It’s one thing to know (and follow) the rules, but sometimes what’s even more important are the subtleties – the unwritten rules and etiquette that apply.  Some might call this etiquette or playing fair or being a good sport.  In the Tour de France we saw both the written and unwritten rules at play, and in the controversy.  

First, the rule breaking…Mark Renshaw’s head-butting of one competitor in a bunch sprint, and subsequent blocking of another in a bunch sprint. While many believed Renshaw was ousted from the Tour for the unsportsmanlike-like head butt (which was in a way following the rules because he believed he was being squeezed out by the competitor coming into his line, and since it’s against the rules to take your hands off the handle bars in a sprint, he was instead using his head to make the point and move his competitor off his line), he was ultimately ousted for the second infraction – blocking a competitor’s line, which is a safety violation.  This rule exists to keep the riders safe during the very aggressive, often precarious, and sometimes dangerous bunch sprints. 

Second, the breaking of the “unwritten” rule – the etiquette of the sport and the respect for the Yellow Jersey…contender Alberto Contador’s failure to slow down and wait for Andy Schleck during a “mechanical” when Schleck dropped his chain and lost precious seconds recovering and then trying to pull back – on a huge climb.  Schleck held the Yellow Jersey at the time and ended up losing it to Contador, all because the etiquette of the sport wasn’t followed. Afterwards, the jury was out on this one, but in years gone by, the etiquette would have dictated that the pack – and especially an important contender like Contador – would “wait”.  Hopefully they’ll resolve this one for next year so the “unwritten” rule is clear to all.

 2. Rise above it all – if you don’t, you may be the only one to lose.  We saw this at play with Andy Schleck following the controversial “drop” by Contador.  At first Andy was angry, but very diplomatic, and then he moved on – privately, and more importantly, publicly – forgiving Contador and saying that this was behind him, period.  This was a message to everyone involved in the sport, whether as a competitor, fan, media – and this, from a young 24 year-old who is wiser than his years in many ways…wise enough to understand that he had to do this, for his sake, and for the sake of the sport.   Interestingly, as soon as he did this, he was able to channel his energy/anger positively, and the controversy around this dissipated almost immediately.  I’m sure Contador was thankful as well, although he played his part in ultimately apologizing to Schleck – good sportsmanship at play all around. 

 3. A good leader needs a good team to succeed…a good leader needs to be surrounded by a good team – you can’t go it alone.  This was evident in Schleck’s inability to win the Tour de France, even though it came down to a matter of seconds over 3 weeks of riding.  Contador had the team behind him, and working for him – this was clear as you could see the “Astana train” at work pulling Contador.  Schleck didn’t have this, especially after his brother Frank dropped out of the Tour following a crash.  Schleck didn’t have Frank to work for him like he’d worked for Frank the year before, and without Frank, he didn’t have a team either.  He couldn’t go it alone, although he sure tried his hardest.  Better luck next year!  

4. Swallow your pride and soldier on – don’t be a quitter.  I saw two examples of this, the first being seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, and the second being contender Cadel Evans.  Both were faced with adversity as a result of crashes and mishaps, and fell out of contention fairly early on – nowhere in keeping with their own expectations or those of others, but they kept on going (in Cadel’s case with a broken elbow), for the sake of the sport, their team and their sponsors – and because it was the right thing to do.  That can’t have been easy to do, especially for Armstrong, who’d come back to win in what was his last Tour.  I think this set a really good example for those coming up the ranks, and for children and adults watching the Tour, and I’m sure it gained them both a whole lot of respect – especially Lance since he would have been seen to have “fallen” the most.  Good for them both. 

5. Set the bar high, believe in yourself, and never give up – even (and especially) if you are the underdog.  Andy Schleck was an excellent example of this towards the end of the Tour de France, and particularly going into the time trial on the third-to-last day, an event which was believed to be his Achilles heel.  He believed in himself, and his ability to have the ride of his lifetime to re-capture the famous “Yellow Jersey”, and he rode what is probably his best time trial ever.  It wasn’t enough, but it was way better than anyone would have ever imagined.  Schleck ended up meeting his own expectations, exceeding those of others, and gained a whole new respect from those around him, including his arch-rival Alberto Contador, who was forced to work harder than he’s ever probably had to in a time trial before.   

If you watched, what did you learn?  And, if you didn’t, what do you think?