Professional cycling is not a mainstream sport in the U.S., so I would guess that few reading this story share my love of the Tour de France. (With the notable exception of Tom Fox.) The race has several different competitions going at the same time, with a confusing mix of skinny guys, tarted up with sponsors like a NASCAR racer. I became a fan two decades ago and continue to be enthralled by drama and athletic heroism on display.
On Sunday, Chris Froome was once again adorned with the “Maillot Jaune” on the Champs-Élysées as the overall winner of the 2017 Tour de France. This is his fourth win and puts him in the cycling pantheon as one of the greatest.
In his previous victories in 2013 and 2015, Mr. Froome dominated his rivals and was clearly the strongest overall contender. Last year, he seemed beatable, but still won. In 2017, Mr. Froome squeezed out his winning margin of 54 seconds on Rigoberto Uran and 2:20 on Romain Bardet during the two time trials in Dusseldorf and Marseille. He lost time to his rivals on the three mountain finishes. For one day he lost the yellow jersey to Fabio Aru in the Pyrenees when he was clearly out ridden and outwitted by his rivals. Mr. Froome completed the rare feat of winning the Tour de France without winning any of the individual stages.
Mr. Froome won this year because of teamwork. Team Sky was clearly the best team in the Tour de France. Rarely did we see Mr. Froome without teammates to support him, while his rivals were isolated on the road. In fact, his teammate Mikel Landa was only 1 second away from being on the podium in third place.
The results are a stark reminder of the importance of teamwork. It’s not good enough to be the best individual compliance officer. You need a team to win. You need the support of the compliance team around you. (Assuming you are big enough to have a team.) You need the support of the entire organization, working together, to make sure everyone works within the rules.
A typical Tour de France day will have a small breakaway of riders charge away from the main group of riders. The breakaway will be allowed to have the small wins along the stage while the main group conserves energy for the final victory. The leading riders will task their supporting riders with charging forward near the end to pass the breakaway and position them for victory.
Compliance is about teamwork and not the individual victory.
Sources:
- Chris Froome Wins Tour Again; Maintenance and Compliance by Tom Fox in the FCPA Compliance Report
- Cycling and the Securities and Exchange Commission
- Compliance, Cycling and the Tour de France
- Compliance and the Tour de France
- Compliance, the Tour de France, and Doping
- Veni… Vidi… Wiggins!
- Compliance Lessons from the Tour de France
I’ll being doing my own bike ride in a dozen days, although it will be far less of a feat than the Tour de France. On August 4 – 6, I will saddle up to ride with 6,200 other cyclists to raise money for life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 100% of your donation will go to cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. I have made a personal commitment to raise $8000.00. I hope that as a reader of Compliance Building you will support my fundraising effort. You can donate through any of the following links:
Thank you,
Doug
