Kickstarting his cycling career in 1997 as an advisor for British Cycling, Dave worked his way up the ranks to become programme director and ultimately the performance director of British Cycling. Widely recognised for revolutionising the way in which cyclists trained, Dave concluded that “if you broke down everything that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.”
Using a holistic approach to athlete psychology, Dave constantly monitored key statistics of cyclists such as their power and developed targeted training sessions in which could help to strengthen any weaknesses of each individual. He adopted a tactic that forgot about perfection and focused on continual progression. He also used ‘the podium principles’ which included considering strategy, human performance and continuous improvement. He would go the extra mile to make sure that his team's performance could be as best as it could, by doing something as small as hiring a surgeon to teach them about proper hand-washing to avoid any illness during the games.
The first Olympic Games with Team GB under Dave's leadership saw their best cycling performance since 1908 with two gold medals secured throughout the 2004 competition. The 2008 and 2012 games saw perpetual improvement for Great Britain as they led the cycling medal table for two consecutive Olympics, winning a total of 8 medals for both years. Dave worked tirelessly with the team, helping cyclists to achieve countless victories across the track, road, BMX and mountain bike racing and World Championship triumph. Whilst simultaneously managing the Olympic team, Brailsford became the manager of Team Sky, a newly-established British professional team. He juggled both roles before resigning from his performance director role at British Cycling. Whilst with Team Sky, he oversaw the Tour de France victories of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. As of 2019, Team Sky changed to Team Ineos with Dave now working as the general manager of Team Ineos.
Throughout his career, Dave has claimed countless awards in reward of his commitments. He has been the recipient of the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year's Coach Award and the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year's Coach Award. Dave has also been inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame and has been appointed as MBE, CBE and Knight Bachelor for his services to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games and cycling. He has also received honorary degrees from both the University of Chester and Sheffield Hallam University. An intelligent, strong-minded and versatile man who has perfected impeccable managerial skills, Sir Dave Brailsford is the perfect addition to any event in need of a motivational speech. Coaching high-calibre athletes, Dave knows what it takes to obtain peak performance, and delivers an eloquent address inspiring individuals to unlock their true potential.
