View source for Dave Brailsford

{{short description|British cycling coach}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox cyclist
| honorific_prefix = [[Knight Bachelor|Sir]]
| name = David Brailsford
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
| image        = David Brailsford.jpg
| caption      = Brailsford in 2007
| fullname     = David John Brailsford
| nickname     =
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1964|2|29}}
| birth_place  = [[Shardlow]], Derbyshire, England
| height       =
| weight       =
| currentteam  = {{UCI team code|SKY}}
| discipline   = [[Road bicycle racing|Road]] and track cycling
| role         = General manager
| manageyears1 = 1997–2014
| manageteam1  = [[British Cycling]]
| manageyears2 = 2010–
| manageteam2  = {{UCI team code|SKY|2010}}
}}

'''Sir David John Brailsford''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} (born 29 February 1964)<ref>{{cite news|last=Shuttleworth|first=Peter|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/cycling/7533548.stm|title=Cycling's Taff at the top|work=[[BBC Sport]]|date=17 August 2008|access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> is a British sports director and former [[Cycle sport|cycling]] coach. He is currently team principal of [[UCI WorldTeam]] {{UCI team code|IGD}}, and was performance director of [[British Cycling]] from 1997 to 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uci.org/road/teams/TeamDetail/15241/1001552/279|title=Ineos Grenadiers|work=UCI.org|publisher=[[Union Cycliste Internationale]]|access-date=2 January 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210102023102/https://www.uci.org/road/teams/TeamDetail/15241/1001552/279|archive-date=2 January 2021}}</ref> He is also currently working with French football club [[OGC Nice|Nice]] and English football club [[Manchester United F.C|Manchester United]] as part of his role as Director of Sport at [[Ineos]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Sir Dave Brailsford is appointed Director of Sport |url=https://www.ogcnice.com/en/article/120055/sir-dave-brailsford-is-appointed-director-of-sport.html |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=OGC Nice |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Chris Marshall-Bell |date=2022-10-12 |title=Dave Brailsford is living in a caravan in Nice as he tries to rescue his football experiment |url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/dave-brailsfords-living-in-a-caravan-in-nice-as-he-tries-to-rescue-his-floundering-football-experiment |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=cyclingweekly.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Brailsford was born in [[Shardlow]], Derbyshire, and moved as a toddler with his parents and siblings to [[Deiniolen]], near [[Caernarfon]] in Wales:
{{Cquote
| quote = We were one of the few English families in that area of [[north Wales]] – we'd moved there from [[Derby]] when I was two – and somehow I always felt I didn't quite fit in. So I always thought I must try harder than the others to be accepted, to be successful.<ref name="Story">{{cite news|last=Chadband|first=Ian|title=Sir Dave Brailsford and the story behind his amazing ride from Bangor to Buck House|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/9970022/Sir-Dave-Brailsford-and-the-story-behind-his-amazing-ride-from-Bangor-to-Buck-House.html|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=4 April 2013|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref>
}}
He attended Ysgol Deiniolen and [[Ysgol Brynrefail]], and learned [[Welsh language|Welsh]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/penisarwaun-mums-pride-brailsford-wins-2802417|title=Penisarwaun mum's pride as Brailsford wins Sports Personality of the Year award|date=18 December 2008|work=North Wales Live|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wynn|first=Nigel|url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/sir-dave-brailsford-appears-in-welsh-language-tv-soap-opera-208584
|title=Sir Dave Brailsford appears in Welsh language TV soap opera|work=[[Cycling Weekly]]|date=25 January 2016|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref> In 1984 he gave up his job as an [[Apprenticeship|apprentice]] [[Drafter|draughtsman]] with the local highways department to travel to France, where he raced for four years as a sponsored amateur for a team based in [[Saint-Étienne]]. He has described his years in France as a time of learning:
{{Cquote
| quote = I'd always hated school but now I had so much time on my hands and didn't go out much in the evenings, I became an avid reader. Training manuals, books about [[physiology]], [[sport psychology|sports psychology]]. I became fluent in French too.<ref name="Story" />
}}
He returned in 1988 to study for a degree in [[sports science|Sport and Exercise Sciences]] and [[Psychology]] at Chester College of Higher Education and then an [[MBA]] at [[Sheffield Hallam University]].<ref name="Career">{{cite news|url=https://www.skysports.com/cycling/news/12040/9259620/sky-sports-looks-at-sir-dave-brailsford-life-and-career|title=Sky Sports looks at Sir Dave Brailsford life and career|work=[[Sky Sports]]|date=30 April 2014|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="Chester">{{cite news|url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/sport/other-sport/cycling-chester-graduate-brailsford-honoured-5227986|title=Cycling: Chester graduate Brailsford honoured for GB Olympic cycling achievements|work=Cheshire Live|date=16 January 2009|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="Hallam">{{cite web|url=https://www4.shu.ac.uk/mediacentre/gb-cycling-chief-track-honorary-degree?filter=Olympics|title=GB Cycling chief on track for honorary degree|publisher=Sheffield Hallam University|date=18 December 2009|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>

==Career==
===Early career===
Brailsford spent some of his early career working as an export sales manager at [[Planet X (bike)|Planet X Bikes]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Richards|first=Brant|url=http://www.planetx.co.uk/news/planet-x-news/q/date/2013/03/01/brailsford-for-the-chop|title=Brailsford for the Chop|publisher=Planet X|date=1 March 2013|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref> He was first employed by British Cycling as a consultant in 1998, after [[The National Lottery|Lottery]] funding began the previous year.<ref name="Career" /><ref name="Quits">{{cite news|last=Fortheringham|first=William|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/feb/26/cycling-tour-de-france-mark-cavendish|title=Sky to sponsor British Tour de France team|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=26 February 2009|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref> Brailsford became programmes director before becoming performance director in 2003 following the departure of [[Peter Keen (cyclist)|Peter Keen]].<ref name="Career" />

==='Marginal gains' philosophy===
At British Cycling, Brailsford was noted for the concept of 'marginal gains':
{{Cquote
| quote = The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.<ref name="Marginal gains">{{cite news|last=Slater|first=Matt|title=Olympics cycling: Marginal gains underpin Team GB dominance|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19174302|work=BBC Sport|access-date=11 April 2014|date=8 August 2012}}</ref>
}}
Brailsford's approach involved the constant measuring and monitoring of key statistics such as cyclists' [[Power (physics)|power]] output, and training interventions targeting specific weaknesses, for example the relative weakness of [[Bradley Wiggins]] in mountain racing.<ref>{{cite news|last=Slater|first=Matt|title=How Dave Brailsford and Team Sky stormed cycling|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/21331484|work=BBC Sport|date=5 February 2013|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> As well as looking at traditional components of success such as physical fitness and tactics, it also entailed a more holistic strategy, embracing technological developments, athlete psychology, and everyday life:
{{Cquote
| quote = Do you really know how to clean your hands? Without leaving the bits between your fingers? If you do things like that properly, you will get ill a little bit less. They're tiny things but if you clump them together it makes a big difference.<ref name="Marginal gains" />
}}

Peaking in the mid-2010s at the height of Brailsford's reputation, 'marginal gains' philosophy
was discussed beyond cycling in the UK mainstream media.<ref>{{cite news|last=Syed|first=Matthew|title=Viewpoint: Should we all be looking for marginal gains?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34247629|work=[[BBC News]]|date=15 September 2015|access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref> Brailsford's '1% Factor' was also discussed in [[Business sector|business]] circles in the UK and internationally.<ref>{{cite news|last=Harrell|first=Eben|url=https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-1-performance-improvements-led-to-olympic-gold|title=How 1% performance improvements led to Olympic gold|work=[[Harvard Business Review]]|date=30 October 2015|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=London Business Forum|title=Sir Dave Brailsford – The 1% Factor|publisher=YouTube|date=1 December 2016|access-date=20 November 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQxYlu12ji8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/NQxYlu12ji8| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In UK [[education policy]], the [[Social Mobility Commission]] argued in 2014 that improvements in the academic performance of disadvantaged students in British schools could be compared to "the success of [the] British cycling team: the aggregation of marginal gains".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Maslen|first=Joseph|title=''Cracking the Code'': The Social Mobility Commission and Education Policy Discourse|journal=Journal of Education Policy|volume=34|issue=5|year=2019|pages=599–612|doi=10.1080/02680939.2018.1449891|s2cid=149726651|url=https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2418/1/Maslen%202018a.doc|access-date=22 September 2020|archive-date=12 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712144939/https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2418/1/Maslen%202018a.doc|url-status=dead|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web|url=https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2418|title=Accepted manuscript|publisher=Institutional [[open access]] repository|access-date=21 October 2019|archive-date=12 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712144912/https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2418/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Writing on the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 EU referendum]], the political commentator [[Tim Shipman]] cited "the philosophy of the Team Sky cycling team" in making the argument that "tiny improvements" made by the [[Britain Stronger in Europe|Remain campaign]] could have changed the referendum's result.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shipman|first=Tim|date=2017|title=All Out War: The Full Story of Brexit|edition=revised and updated|location=London|publisher=William Collins|page=592|isbn=978-0-008-21517-0}}</ref>

Latterly, the philosophy has been criticised and ridiculed, including by Wiggins.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Tim|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/oct/20/marginal-gains-tarnished-bradley-wiggins-dave-brailsford|title=Golden aura around marginal gains is beginning to look a little tarnished|work=The Guardian|date=20 October 2019|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Cary|first=Tom|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2017/03/26/sir-bradley-wiggins-says-marginal-gains-load-rubbish-calls-victoria/|title=Sir Bradley Wiggins says marginal gains is 'load of rubbish' and calls Victoria Pendleton 'bit of a milkshake'|work=The Telegraph|date=26 March 2017|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref>

===Great Britain cycling team===
At the [[2004 Olympic Games]] [[Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Great Britain]] won two cycling gold medals, their best performance since 1908.<ref>{{cite news|last=Slater|first=Matt|title=How GB cycling went from tragic to magic|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/cycling/7534073.stm|work=BBC Sport|access-date=11 April 2014|date=14 August 2008}}</ref> Under Brailsford's leadership, the cycling team continued to improve, winning multiple [[UCI World Championships|world championships]] in [[Road bicycle racing|road]], [[track cycling|track]], [[BMX racing|BMX]] and [[Mountain bike racing|mountain bike]] racing. Great Britain led the cycling medal table at the [[Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008]] and [[Cycling at the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012]] Olympic Games, winning eight golds at both, while British cyclists won 59 World Championships across different disciplines from 2003 to 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=GB Cycling Team medal history: Medals won by the Great Britain Cycling Team at world championships, Olympic Games and Paralympic Games since 2000|url=http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/article/Gbrst_gb-cyclingteam-GB-Cycling-Team-Medal-History--0|publisher=British Cycling|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

In reference to the success, Brailsford noted: "The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-09-14 |title=Viewpoint: Should we all be looking for marginal gains? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34247629 |access-date=2023-01-09}}</ref>

===Team Sky/Team Ineos===
In 2010, Brailsford also became the manager of the new British-based professional team, {{UCI team code|IGD|2010}}.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fortheringham|first=William|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/apr/10/sir-dave-brailsford-team-sky-leave-british-cycling|title=Sir Dave Brailsford quits performance director job at British Cycling|work=The Guardian|date=10 April 2014|access-date=15 November 2019}}</ref> In this role he oversaw Bradley Wiggins', [[Chris Froome]]'s and [[Geraint Thomas]]' victories in the [[2012 Tour de France|2012]], [[2013 Tour de France|2013]], [[2015 Tour de France|2015]], [[2016 Tour de France|2016]], [[2017 Tour de France|2017]] and [[2018 Tour de France|2018]] [[Tour de France]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/18946960|title=Bradley Wiggins wins 2012 Tour de France|date=22 July 2012|work=BBC Sport|access-date=15 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23399906|title=Tour de France: Chris Froome wins 100th edition of race|date=21 July 2013|work=BBC News|access-date=15 November 2019}}</ref> In April 2014, Brailsford resigned as performance director at British Cycling to concentrate on his Team Sky responsibilities.<ref name="Quits" />

Team Sky became Team Ineos in May 2019, due to a change of sponsor. Brailsford remained as team principal after the changeover.<ref>{{cite news |title=Team Sky become Team Ineos as new sponsor owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe is confirmed |work=BBC Sport |date=19 March 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47629760 |access-date=3 January 2020}}</ref>

In December 2021, Brailsford was appointed Director of Sport at Ineos, overseeing a growing range of teams and disciplines sponsored by the group, including French football club [[OGC Nice|Nice]][[Manchester United F.C.|.]]<ref name=":0" /> His role as Team Principal at INEOS Grenadiers cycling team continued unaffected.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Grenadiers|first=The Ineos|title=Sir Dave Brailsford appointed Director of Sport at INEOS|url=https://www.ineosgrenadiers.com/article/sir-dave-brailsford-appointed-director-of-ineos-sport|access-date=2021-12-17|website=www.ineosgrenadiers.com|language=en}}</ref>

===Doping controversy===
In March 2018 the [[The Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee|Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee]] published the report ''Combatting Doping in Sport''. Chapter 2 of the report, "British Cycling and Team Sky", focused on Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) gained by both organisations for the use of drugs on the [[World Anti-Doping Agency|WADA]] [[List of drugs banned by WADA|Prohibited List]], citing the defence used by Wiggins and [[Shane Sutton]] that TUEs were used to "find gains" and put oneself "back on a level playing field" with rivals. The report alleged in particular that the drug [[triamcinolone]] had been "used to prepare" Wiggins "and possibly other riders supporting him" for the 2012 Tour de France, "not to treat medical need, but to improve his [[Power-to-weight ratio|power to weight ratio]] ahead of the race". It concluded that Team Sky had crossed an "ethical line" by exploiting this loophole "to enhance the performance of riders".<ref>{{cite report|author=House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee|date=2 March 2018|title=''Combatting Doping in Sport''|chapter-url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcumeds/366/36606.htm|publisher=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]|location=London|chapter=2. British Cycling and Team Sky §74, 109–110|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>

Following the publication of the report, Brailsford was defended by [[Chris Froome]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Skelton|first=Jack|title=Chris Froome 'completely backs' Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford after doping report|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/43342938|work=BBC Sport|date=9 March 2018|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>

==Honours==
* In [[2005 Birthday Honours|June 2005]], [[2009 New Year Honours|December 2008]] and [[2013 New Year Honours|December 2012]], respectively, Brailsford was appointed a [[Order of the British Empire|Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE), [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) and a [[Knight Bachelor]], the latter for services to cycling and the London 2012 [[2012 Summer Olympics|Olympic]] and [[2012 Summer Paralympics|Paralympic]] Games.<ref>{{cite web|title=MBE For Dave Brailsford|publisher=British Cycling|date=15 June 2005|url=http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/gbr/News2005/20050615_mbe_brailsford.asp|url-status=dead|access-date=23 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306101328/http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/gbr/News2005/20050615_mbe_brailsford.asp|archive-date=6 March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Andrew|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sport-review-of-the-year/4031440/Golden-generation-gain-their-just-rewards.html|work=The Telegraph|title=Golden generation gain their just rewards
|date=31 December 2008|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Richardson|first=Simon|url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/dave-brailsford-receives-knighthood-from-the-queen-33372|work=Cycling Weekly|title=Dave Brailsford receives knighthood from the Queen|date=28 February 2013|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref>

* In December 2008 the 14 medals, including eight golds, achieved by British Cycling at the [[2008 Summer Olympics|Olympics]] won him the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year]]'s [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award|Coach Award]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/sports_personality_of_the_year/7771920.stm|work=BBC Sport|title=Sports Personality 2008|date=14 December 2008|access-date=16 December 2008}}</ref>
* In November 2008 and December 2009, respectively, he was awarded honorary doctorates by his alma maters the University of Chester and Sheffield Hallam University.<ref name="Chester" /><ref name="Hallam" />
* In December 2012 he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award for a second time.<ref name=spoty12>{{cite news|title=Sports Personality: Cycling's Dave Brailsford is coach of the year|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/sports-personality/20692840|work=BBC Sport|access-date=16 December 2012|date=16 December 2012}}</ref>
* As a resident of [[Ilkeston]], he also in December 2012 received the [[Freedom of the City|Freedom of the Borough]] of [[Borough of Erewash|Erewash]], Derbyshire.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-20770146|title=Cycle coach Dave Brailsford receives freedom of Erewash|work=BBC News|date=19 December 2012|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>
* In October 2016 he was inducted into the [[British Cycling Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/about/article/20161028-about-bc-news-British-Cycling-Hall-of-Fame--Seven-new-inductions-at-International-Gala-Dinner-0#BABiqh32tlVwOCLT.99|title=British Cycling Hall of Fame: Seven new inductions at international gala dinner|publisher=British Cycling|date=28 October 2016|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>
* The sports centre at [[Bangor University]], Canolfan Brailsford, is named in his honour.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Dave Brailsford opens Sports Centre named in his honour |url=https://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/archive/sir-dave-brailsford-opens-sports-centre-named-in-his-honour-20841 |website=Bangor University |access-date=17 October 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Moore|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Moore (journalist)|title=Mastermind: How Dave Brailsford Reinvented the Wheel|url=https://backpagepress.co.uk/books/mastermind-how-dave-brailsford-reinvented-the-wheel/|year=2014|publisher=BackPage Press (ebook)|isbn=978-1-909430-07-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|David Brailsford}}
* [https://www.ineosgrenadiers.com/staff/sir-dave-brailsford Sir Dave Brailsford] Team Ineos webpage.

{{Ineos Grenadiers riders}}
{{British Cycling Hall of Fame}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brailsford, Dave}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People educated at Ysgol Brynrefail]]
[[Category:People from Deiniolen]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Gwynedd]]
[[Category:People from Shardlow]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Welsh cycling coaches]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Liverpool]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Cyclists awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:Ineos Grenadiers]]
[[Category:English sports executives and administrators]]