Chris Froome endorses Dave Brailsford's 'marginal gains' philosophy for Manchester United's success

Singapore - Chris Froome, a four-time Tour de France champion, is well aware of the recipe for success in building a winning team. His firsthand experience with Dave Brailsford, the mastermind behind Britain's rise to cycling dominance in the early 2000s, has given him valuable insights into what it takes to create a winning operation.

The former head of British cycling outfit Team Sky, later rebranded as Ineos Grenadiers, also masterminded Tour de France overall titles for Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Froome between 2012 and 2018.

With Brailsford now holding a key role in football operations at English Premier League football club Manchester United, Froome is confident that his compatriot can help herald a new era of success at Old Trafford.

Brailsford is the head of sport for the Ineos group, owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, which made a 25 per cent minority investment in United in February in a deal worth about US$1.25 billion (S$1.66 billion).

When asked if he felt Brailsford can help change United’s fortunes, Froome said on Nov 9: “Certainly, I think if he applies a lot of the same mindset and management that he did at Team Sky, I can definitely see him making some big changes on the football side of things.

“I really learnt a lot from him. I think his leadership skills and his ability to really get the best out of a group working together was phenomenal. So it’d be interesting to see what he’s able to do, and how much influence he has on the football side.”

“If I know Dave Brailsford well enough, I know he can really bring a team together,” added Froome, 39, who will be among a star-studded cast at the Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium on Nov 10.

Brailsford and Froome worked together during their time at Team Sky from 2010 to 2020 and with Brailsford as team principal, the cyclist won four Tour de France titles in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Froome left the team at the end of the 2020 season to join Israel Start-Up Nation (now Israel-Premier Tech) while Brailsford resigned from his cycling role in January 2024.

Before his stint with the Ineos cycling team, Brailsford had made his name as British Cycling’s performance director where he enjoyed 11 highly successful years before his resignation in 2014.

There, Brailsford’s “marginal gains” mantra helped turn British cyclists into serial winners during an unprecedented period of domination in the sport, with eight gold medals at the Beijing and London Olympics.

Based on the Japanese principle of kaizen, or continuous improvement, Brailsford’s “marginal gains” philosophy was that if athletes and their teams upgrade all the little things they do by one per cent, the overall gain will be game-changing.

Some cyclists like Wiggins have rubbished its impact but Froome believes that this approach saw meticulous attention to detail in sleep, nutrition, training, and recovery and eventually brought success.

Froome detailed how Team Sky would bring the same mattress to every hotel stop, ensuring riders got consistent, high-quality sleep, with rooms blacked out to maximise rest.

Over three weeks, these measures could mean the difference of “15 hours more sleep and recovery” than competitors, he said.

Froome added: “I don’t know enough about football to be honest, to really say if that’s something that would move the needle in football, but in cycling, I know it certainly did, and it was extremely powerful for us.”

With United, who will welcome new manager Ruben Amorim on Nov 11, sitting 13th in the league, Brailsford’s touch may just be the tonic they need to revive their fortune.