Johan Bruyneel Is A Loser!

To get ready for this year's Tour De France, which started today, i just finished reading Johan Bruyneel's book We Might As Well Win. It is a great read and explains a lot about his strategy and how he thought as he led Lance to 7 first place finishes, Alberto Contador to the 2007 victory, and how he will probably think as he leads either Lance or Alberto to this year's win.

But, buried amongst all of the strategy is a message that struck home. Everyone knows that both Johan and Lance value winning more than all else. I always thought that was the only option. But late in the book, Johan admits that there is another acceptable option — losing. The only option not acceptable is sitting comfortably in the middle, accepting the glory of a lower step on the winner's podium, accepting the glory of just being in the race, but not gambling everything to try and win; gambling your team, your status, your health, ... everything.

After losing the 16^th stage to Rasmussen in 2007, and what seemed the last chance to grab the yellow jersey for the final time, he held a meeting with the team to commiserate. They had, they knew, gambled everything in this stage; in fact, on the last climb of the stage. The gamble hadn't paid off. Yet at that meeting he comes to realize, "I was still willing to risk losing to win. Something inside me would never settle for being in the middle."

Settling for the comfortable middle, simply showing up each day, keeping your head down, doing what it takes to keep up with the peloton, never attempting to be the best, or worse, trying once, and then giving up when it doesn't work out as planned, or simply basking in the glory of the other team member's status, and on, and on..... what a sad and despicable way to live a life.

And the last paragraph of the book is stellar:

"You never know which moment of success will be the one that ends up changing your life, so they're all worth fighting for. From the smallest victory at home to the most public triumph, every win of your life might be the one that really ends up meaning something, that transforms you from simply the winner of the moment into the rarest thing of all: a true winner."

That's the goal in life — finding a way to be a true winner. And you don't get that by settling for the middle. It's better to lose, walk away with your head held high, and try again later.