Positioning

Last Saturday morning, as the group I was riding with was heading uphill, I came up behind a rider on his time trial bike. This isn't unusual in Southern California as there are a number of triathletes and cyclists who ride these aero steeds. I caught a quick glance as I passed him, made a mental note about his poor position and moved on. The note didn't come to mind again until today when I watched Cadel Evans in the final time trial stage of the 2012 Tirreno Adriatico stage race in Italy.
Now, Cadel is an awesome rider but what I saw today was surprising. Here is a seasoned professional who pays close attention to detail with what appeared to be poor positioning on his time trail bike. If you look at the photo, you will see that he is sitting more upright and his front area is wide open and creating a lot of wind resistance. When these aero bars were introduced in 1988 by Scott, they were designed to mirror the position of a downhill skier, arms out front with a narrow frontal area for aerodynamic purpose.
Which brings me back to Saturday's ride. Because many riders have a road bike and an aero bike, they will often set both bikes up with the same position. However, in doing so, your aero position becomes extremely inefficient. It was clear that this rider had tried to set up his position to match his road bike position, something that I was able to see easily when riding from behind.
My message - there is no one size fits all. In business, we cannot expect that a sales strategy that has led to a successful sale is going to work time and again. What worked last year that led to record revenues may not work this year due to economic changes, customer buying cycles, etc.
If you want to be the most efficient, it is important to have the proper situation or setup. Whether it is in business, sport or life, we need to be adaptable yet attentive to making minor changes that will lead to our success.