SIR DAVE BRAILSFORD once had the floor of the British Cycling team truck painted white to spot dust more easily. The thinking was the quicker any impurities were identified, the quicker they could be cleaned up thereby not adversely affecting the bikes.
A surgeon was brought in to teach riders the proper way to wash their hands to avoid illness, long before it became commonplace with Covid. And mattresses and pillows were transported to competitions to ensure athletes' sleep was not affected. Such nuggets are part of what became known as "marginal gains", and there are myriad examples.
There have been sceptics including one of the recipient's early success stories in Sir Bradley Wiggins, a gold medal winner on the track and Tour de France winner on the road. He once labelled marginal gains as "a load of old rubbish".
But Brailsford still sticks by the philosophy of success being improved by an accumulation of a multitude of incremental factors, an approach that is likely to make its way to Manchester United.
The 59-year-old has been tipped to join Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer on a three-man board deciding football matters once Ratcliffe's 25 per cent stake in the club is finalised.
Esta historia es de la edición November 24, 2023 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 24, 2023 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis