by Optimum
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Every July, I become insufferable to be around.
The Tour de France is on, and I love it. Not just during the racing, but in the weeks before it. The prototype bikes spotted at the Critérium du Dauphiné. The first glimpses of the latest bit of aero tech. The argument over which wheel depth is fastest in the crosswinds. Whether Pogačar’s new Colnago TT2 gives him an edge in the time trial stages.
Yes, I am that person. An aero-nerd on the never-ending quest to save watts and get faster.
This year the 113th edition kicks off in Barcelona on 4 July, covering 3,333 kilometres over 21 stages. Ahead of the Grand Départ, the tech world of professional cycling is in full swing. Teams are switching wholesale to waxed chain lubes for drivetrain efficiency gains. Colnago has shaved 550 grams off Pogačar’s time trial bike. Tyre width choices are being optimised to the millimetre depending on wheel rim profiles. Riders are wearing core body temperature sensors to manage heat load in real time.
None of these changes, on their own, wins the Tour. But stacked together, they add up. That’s the philosophy of marginal gains: find every small advantage and let the compound effect do the work.
For candidates: the small stuff is not small
World Tour teams spend serious time in wind tunnels.
Riders spend hours holding the exact position they will maintain for six hours on a mountain stage, while engineers measure the drag created by a helmet vent, the airflow disruption from a water bottle cage, the watts lost from a skinsuit seam in the wrong place. Tiny numbers. Fractions of fractions.
None of it is visible on race day. The rider just looks fast.
The candidates who consistently land the best roles are doing the same thing. Optimising quietly, in the background, long before anyone is watching.
They take opportunities when they come. Not just the big ones; the secondment, the promotion, the high-profile project but the small ones too. The invitation to sit in on a client meeting. The chance to put their hand up for something outside their comfort zone. The boring project nobody else wanted. The small opportunities are easy to overlook. But they have a habit of mattering more than they seemed at the time.
They build relationships before they need them. Not through grand networking gestures, but through small, consistent ones. A coffee with someone in a different part of the business. Showing up to an industry event when it would have been easier to stay at the office. Those relationships do not feel like career strategy in the moment. They feel like it two years later when a conversation opens a door that was never advertised.
They know where their gaps are, and they close them deliberately. Not waiting for a performance review to flag it. Not assuming the next employer will train them. Just a genuine willingness to consistently develop their skills. They identify what is missing and they go and get it.
The same philosophy applies everywhere. Small, consistent actions build toward bigger goals; whether that is saving for a trip to Europe, training for an event, or positioning yourself for the next step in your career. You don’t need to know exactly where you’re headed for the small stuff to matter. It accumulates regardless. The marginal gains mindset is not just a cycling concept. It is a life one.
Wind tunnel sessions do not make headlines. But they show up in the results.
For employers: the hiring process is a stage race
Nobody wins the Tour on a single stage. You can lose it on one, though.
A slow interview process, poor communication between stages, or a below-market offer at the finish line are all ways to hand the race to a competitor. In a tight talent market, those are costly mistakes.
The marginal gains approach in hiring means looking at every part of the process and asking: where are we losing time? Where are we losing candidates?
Are you moving fast enough? The best candidates are rarely only speaking to you. Is there unnecessary lag between interviews? Does the candidate leave every interaction feeling good about your organisation, or just assessed? Is your offer reflecting what the market looks like right now, or what it looked like two years ago?
Each of these is a small thing. But Tour teams do not leave small things to chance. They shave grams off a frame. They optimise the tyre pressure. They track the rider’s core temperature. Because when everything else is equal, marginal gains are the difference.
The organisations that consistently attract and keep strong engineers treat their hiring process the same way.
The bigger picture: you need a team behind you
Something that often gets lost in the narrative around Pogačar or Vingegaard is how many people are working behind the scenes to put them in a position to win.
Dan Bigham, Head of Engineering at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, is a former hour record holder who now spends his time on aerodynamic modelling and data-driven performance analysis. Teams now carry performance engineers, data scientists, nutritionists and heads of innovation alongside the traditional mechanics and coaches. The margins they chase are tiny. But collectively, they are the reason some teams consistently perform, and others consistently fall short.
The point is this: elite performance in any field does not happen in isolation. It happens when talented individuals are surrounded by people who help them optimise.
Whether you are an engineer building your career or an organisation building a team, the support structures around you matter. The mentors, the peers, the trusted advisors who know your market and tell you the truth.
Marginal gains do not happen by accident. They happen because someone is paying attention to the details.
The Tour starts 4 July. I will be following every stage.
And quietly thinking about how many new additions I need to add to my bike.
Ben Sciacca, Consultant
