Why Product Teams Should Ride Like Visma

What Simon Yates Giro d’Italia victory can teach us about digital product development

I won’t go into every detail of the Visma | Lease a Bike masterplan cycling experts have done that already. But here’s the short version of what happened on Stage 20 from Verrs to Sestriere: Isaac Del Toro (GC leader) and Richard Carapaz (2nd) isolated each other attacking too early on the Colle delle Finestre. While Del Toro and Carapaz battled, Simon Yates (3rd) kept his rhythm, rode smart, and took the lead on the summit. Crucially: Wout van Aert in the breakaway, waiting. A powerhouse time trialist, he paced Yates to a 5-minute lead. UAE and EF missed the move and paid the price. Bottom line: Cycling is a team sport. Everyone has their role. Yates took the win and led the team, but it was Wout and the entire Visma team that enabled it.

And digital product development? Same principles. Everyone in a cross-functional team has a role and every role matters. You need coverage. Resilience. A team that can adapt when things turn to custard. Theres a shared goal. A guiding strategy. But tactics emerge through inspect & adapt. Great product outcomes are team victories powered by trust, clarity, and excellence. And finally: know your unfair advantage and use it when it matters most.

Success isnt about one superstar sprinting ahead. Its about how well your team rides together.

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Originally posted on LinkedIn.