If you are a cycling fan, then you have had a great 3 months watching the grand tours of France, Italy and Spain. There are many leadership and teamwork lessons to be learned from the self-sacrificing nature of pro cycling.

You might just have heard of Geraint Thomas. In 2018, he won the Tour of France. In May of this year, he was 14 seconds away from winning the Tour of Italy. He has won gold medals at the cycling world championships and the Olympics.

Make no mistake, he is one of the very best cyclists in the world.

And at the moment, he is having an absolutely shocker of a tour of Spain! Well off the pace in terms of winning and carrying injuries from several crashes.

So what has he done? He retired and went home to recover. Absolutely not!

He is also known for his grit and determination.

As a cycling fan, I listen to a podcast from him that is recorded while he is racing. You get his unedited and sometimes emotional responses to his current misfortune.

This is what I have picked up:

💪 He is paid to do a job and he is determined to do it, what ever the race result

💪 He knows that he leads the team and what he does and how he reacts to misfortune matters

💪 He is honest about the fact that it is not going well

💪 He will reset, put it behind him and go again to get the very best that is possible out of the race

Elite sports can be very humbling, but there is so much that can be learned from them.

Would you not like an authentic leader that you respect even when they are not at their best?