Think Bigg-r

Reading social media commentary about the La Vuelta Spain 2023 cycling grand tour reveals much about society today.  Real champions (sport or business leaders) are not an image of the social media. Champions are not impacted by negative commentary; there success is based on a character ethic that gives them inner strength and self-confidence, thereby never allowing others to act on them.

Negative social media comments on Roglic and Vingegaard (explanations below for those interested to understand road cycling) have largely been emotional, shallow and without substance. Few seek to understand first before blowing their mouths off.  Most are scripted in win/lose and do not understand win/win.  They see everything as black or white; believing that they are objective and everyone else is wrong.  

Many sports enthusiasts do not follow road cycling because they don’t understand it. They are conditioned by the notion that the strongest wins. If a team sport, the strongest team wins.  But in cycling the strongest rider in a team is supported to win.  Many cannot grasp this concept and never get to enjoy the truly fantastic sport of road cycling because of their conditioning.

La Vuelta Spain 2023 is in the last week.  The podium positions (1^st 2^nd 3^rd), barring any accidents, will go to Team Jumbo Visma (TJV) riders (very unusual).  Despite the podium having been “basically decided” there has been a lot of intrigue around which TJV rider would win. Or be allowed to win, the concept that many cannot grasp. Normally the lead GC rider is decided prior the race and the remaining 7 riders in the team support him. TJV ambitions to win all 3 of the Grand Tours in one season and so make history, meant that they entered La Vuelta with 2 strong GC contenders (Roglic and Vingegaard) and the 6 remaining in the team being helpers (domestiques).

The start of race days is hectic as riders try to make the breakaway; riders with ambitions to win a stage. The peloton of main riders wants a breakaway so that the race can settle down, but they must ensure that no rider who is a threat to winning the overall race (general classification) is in that breakaway.  If there is a GC rider threat in the breakaway the peloton will chase and close it down. The breakaway is allowed to form (elastic snaps) when no rider in it is a threat to the overall general classification standing. The peloton eases off and allows the gap to quickly blow out (+- 5 minutes) so that the breakaway do not feel threatened to keep riding hard.  Everyone eases off, the objective to conserve energy to perform in key parts of the race day, and over the entire 21 stages (2 rest days in between).  

Earlier on in this race (week 1) Kuss (mountain stage domestique of TJV) was encouraged to join a breakaway, a group of riders considered to have no realistic chance to win over the 3-week period.  The breakaway went all the way (Kuss stage winner) gaining a big-time gap over the peloton (main group that includes the GC riders, riders managing every stage to win the overall 21-day race).  Kuss took the red jersey (leaders jersey) after this stage, but it was still early in the race.  His lead was eroded in the individual time trial but still he held the jersey going into week 3.

Roglic and Vingegaard gained time in subsequent mountain stages over their team member (Kuss). Most interpreted this as an attack on a team member in RED; I saw it as a team increasing their stronghold over all podium positions, increasing the gap between them and the 4^th position.  Another example of how we all see the world through different lenses!

Social media has been awash with comments on what was perceived as the main riders (Roglic and Vingegaard) attacks on the Red Jersey (leaders jersey) held by team member Kuss.  The public who sorts of understand cycling are emotionally connected to Kuss winning, because he has been a team domestique (helper) for many years to Roglic and Vingegaard, riders most capable to win the general classification (lowest accumulative time) and because Kuss has never won before.

Kuss is a great rider, but not proven in the class of Roglic or Vingegaard over a full 3-week grand tour.  With the current big time gaps to the 4^th placed rider, and this late in the race, Roglic and Vingegaard can now afford to hold back and support a Kuss win.  This is an inverted position where the strongest riders are forced to lay off and support a team member of “lesser” general classification ability. 

I will not watch the last stages of La Vuelta Spain because even I struggle with the concept of gifting wins in professional sport even though I would enjoy Kuss winning. Furthermore, at the back of my mind is this scenario:

 Roglic who won the Giro Italia, was not included to race Tour de France because Vingegaard was the chosen GC rider for TJV (correctly so as defending champion).  Should Roglic have deserved an opportunity to try win on merit like the late inclusion of Vingegaard at La Vuelta?  No, Roglic was left to prepare for La Vuelta Spain.  Following Tour de France TJV victory, they had the opportunity to make history and win all 3 grand tours in the same season, so entered Vingegaard to hedge TJV bets.  Both riders told to ride for victory, the best man to win. Fair and proper.  Now both are being told that they cannot race because they must support a Kuss win.

 I will not comment on social media because it’s a wash of shallow mindset commentary. But I have reservations about Team Jumbo Visma leadership in these areas:

• Management weakness in making key decisions, choosing rather to see how things played out.  It did not play itself out and they have a mess on their hands,
• Are management influenced by public opinion on social media rather than making decisions based on proper race criteria?
• Does TJV management greed to win all podium positions conflict with the strong inherent motivation of winners to win?

My review mirror, the lens through which I see this unfolding, is that both Kuss and Roglic should find other homes.   Both are in their twilight years and need to make changes sooner than later to teams that can support their ambitions.