After a very busy last few days preparing bikes we made our trip to the Tour Mediterrane. Now as a mechanic I soon realized my job is not just adjusting brakes and gears, this is not a job for just anyone who can fix a bike. There is a lot of aspects about being a professional mechanic that some people wouldn’t even think of, lets just say if I was prone to car sickness then I wouldn’t be of much help.
The trip started very early early Monday morning and we headed off for the 13 hour drive across France. Now while all the riders had the ease of flying it is part of the mechanics and soigneurs job to drive all the equipment needed to the tour by car. So about 1300 odd km later, we arrived in Agde, a town by the seaside at about 9pm.
The next day it was time to unload and prepare. Nico Mattan and Robby Muel were already there so their bikes were washed and checked before a training ride and then washed again when they returned. Now when you’re not on the tools there is all the running around to do, like getting in the minibus and driving 2 hours to go pick up the riders from the airport. The riders arrived late in the day so this meant a late night for myself and Chris (the other spanner man). Now this is one aspect of the job that you have to put up with to do it: early starts and late finishes, so by the end of the day you’ve probably done an average of about 15 hours a day from the time you wake to the time you go to bed. No spare time here. This goes on for the whole length of the tour, and a few days before and after.
The other thing about the job that would probably tick most people off is the constant adjustments that the riders require, especially when the bikes are new. The first couple of days I had riders coming to me saying “Mark, do you think you coculd lower my seat a little?” “yeah sure, no worries” I say. So I grab my trusty 4mm, loosen the seat pin “how much?” I say. “Oh just a mm” they reply. I’m thinking you’re kidding, you’re bugging me over 1 mm!! But that’s my job, these guys have to be as comfortable as possible on these bikes, and it’s my job to get everything to the mm otherwise it could cause a minor injury that niggles at you for months.
But really, cyclists do whinge a bit, either about tyres, seats, and especially handlebars. The Euro guys love the classic bars with the tight drop. It’s because they use very minimal stack under the stem, you’ve probably noticed in the magazines, most riders have the stem right on the headset, this is to maximize stiffness through the fork steerer (and works), but if they use a bar with a large drop, they have to reach down too far. That’s just and example, we’re a fussy breed of people.
Now a typical day for me was up very early to have breakfast which the hotel provides for tour staff and riders. If we had a drive to the start the bikes would be loaded into the van (We normally would use a truck, with the bikes already in it, but we had to take a van). The race start would still be an hour away when we arrive (see Justin, even the pros arrive an hour early!). The riders chillout while we unload. Lining up the bikes is important, you need the right kind of wall. There is always spectators walking around taking photos of riders and bikes, so it’s important the bikes are arranged in an orderly manner and it just looks good for the team and the sponsors name on the bike.
Once all the riders are ready and those minor (and I mean minor!) adjustments made, it is time to make my race car ready. 4 bikes plus 2 front and 2 rear wheels on top. In the car I have 2 forks, 2 rears in the boot. The soigneurs have an eski full of bidons to hand out. The car is my workspace, it may look small, but if organized properly, you have enough room. I’ll have 2 rear wheels and 1 front, my tool box and results from the last stage, in the back seat with me. I then push the passenger seat all the way forward, tape a start list to the back of the front seat, take the headrest out and put my main tools in (3,4,5,6 mm allen keys, flat blade screwdriver for derailleur adjustments). In the tool box there are just basic tools, such as tape, zipties, pliers…
Then we jump in the car and I sit there keeping the rear window free for Eric to see out of. On one of the stages I was piss farting around in the back on a descent and Eric couldn’t see out the back. “I need six eyes” he said. This is because riders sit in the draft of a car going down a descent at about 90 clicks an hour, and the car will pull off the racing line through a corner, to let the riders past, so Eric needs to be able to see/know if there are any riders there.
For the 6 stages I only had to do 3 wheel changes and 2 hang-out-the-window repairs. One was just to try and get Cameron’s radio working, the other was to adjust Robby’s front bake up, apparently his hands were that cold he couldn’t turn the adjuster barrel. He was about to descend the famous Cipressa (from Milan-SanRemo classic) and needed a little more front brake. At all times you have to stay relaxed in these situations and so does the rider, but it’s hard when you’re trying to change a rear wheel in less than 15 seconds.
Now the aspect about car sickness is that you’re in the car a long time and we were unfortunately last in the convoy , but every now and then we would get up the front to see some action, mainly to retrieve a jacket or hand one out or to give a bidon. Then you go back to your position. In order of team position in the race, team cars are given a convoy position. We were car 17 all tour, last. But we were a very small team compared to some of these guys. The other this is you have to trust youre driver. Going down a descent at 90kph on a road that is not much wider than the car you’re in is not for a person that gets car sick. You sit there with one hand on the door rest, the other on your spare wheels to stop them from moving, and then when the car brakes, it’s at the last minute so you quickly throw one hand on the seat in front, unless you like bloodnoses. But I have faith in Eric’s driving, having been an ex rider (sorry, superstar rider), he kjonws exactly how the riders react and he knows what they’ll do. Coming down the Cipressa descent you could tell he’s ridden that a few times, he drove it like he knew every bump in the road. Until we came to a screaming halt due to a crash involving a rider hitting the guard rail. One of our riders. Eric’s brother, Gert VDA. Badly hurt with a severed artery in his leg, cut to the back of the head, broken leg, and in a LOT of pain. I retrieved his bike from the 5 metre drop below and put in on the car. Chris rode in the car with us that day, so Eric stayed with Gert in the ambo, while we drove up to our two riders in the main peloton.
Not to get too much off track, at the end of the day the bikes are unloaded and the washing begins. While I’m in the car all day, Chris heads straight to the next hotel to set up our work area and unload all the riders bags into the rooms. We probably wouldn’t start on the bikes till about 5pm, so we only had a couple of hours of daylight to work in, unless you borrow the light from another team. If you ask nicely, they’ll let you work in their light from their huge mechanics truck (we don’t have our own yet!) The Lampre guys in particular, thanks guys.
The next morning we are up early to do all the adjustments of brakes, gears, and make sure everything is tight. Then we wash the team cars which have to be done each day. We load all our stuff and head to the start again.
So it’s not a glamorous job, the hours are long, the pay is only enough to get you by, and if you’re not careful the riders will milk you for all you’re worth. But I love it, it’s a special life, Chris would say what a crap days work we’ve done for little pay, but I say “did we work today?” because to me it doesn’t feel like work. I’ve done some work in my time, but at the moment this doesn’t feel like work. It’s a passion and you have to keep it that way.
At the moment I’m sitting in the car writing this while Lindsay is in an interview, so today I probably won’t work at all, as we are in Holland (I’ve been here 3 weeks and been to 4 countries). For now we are preparing for the team presentation on Monday, ensuring all the bikes are ready for the newly-arrived riders, and preparing for the Het Volk. By then Lindsay and I will have moved into our own house across the street which the team has greatly provided for us. Till then I’ll try to keep filling you in on the behind the scenes stuff, and if there’s anything you want to know, don’t hesitate to drop me a line.
Check the photo album for the new photos.
Keep riding,
Mark
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Race Preparation
Well what a week it has been, things getting done right down to the last minute. Early in the week we still had no forks to assemble the bikes, so here's how my week unfolded, in the lead up to the first race of the season, the Tour De Mediterraine...
Monday started with not much to do at all, I'd done as much as I could to the bikes. All that was left to do was to fit the chains and align the derailleurs. Cameron Jennings (Worm) arrived in the morning, so that gave me an excuse to get on the tools. Though his bike didn't need much putting together after the flight from Oz, it sill kept me from tinkering withdrawals.
Tuesday was another quiet day, with still no parts to finish the bikes with, so I took the opportunity to relax a little. I borrowed the team van and did a little driving around. The thing was the van was English, so driving it felt normal with the controls on the right, but to actually drive on the right side of the road was a little different. Luckily the power steering was already broken when I got in, and I drove without putting a single scratch in the van, unlike Worm (who had a slight mishap at the local supermarket later that night).
Wednesday was another day off the toold, but Linds had an interview in Gent, a 4 hour return trip by train, so that was our Wednesday spent.
Although there was no nspanner work done this day, I did find out that the rest of the frames were arriving tomorrow and the Reynolds delivery was at the freight company in Brussels for a week because the didn't know where it had to be delivered. So now the rest of the week was looking very busy.
Thursday was an early start on the tools with 3 riders picking up their bikes. The Reynolds order turned up early so I grabbed enough forks to build the 3 bikes, and finished them just in time for when the riders arrived to pick them up. Today my work truck was also delivered from the UK, nicely fitted out with 16 bike mounts and 50 wheel mounts, a high pressure cleaner and an air compressor for those 18 pairs of wheels we'll take to the tour. Two of the bikes I then had to box up so they could be taken back to the UK, as two riders weren't riding the tour. By the end of the day my work area was soon full again with Nick Collins (team owner) bringing the rest of the frames and Gil bringing all the Reynolds delivery. So now I had everything to build a complete bike, except for seats. We got our Schwable delivery also, a season's worth of Ultremo's - the soft compound slick that I tested for 4 months back home prior to their release, awesome tyre, even grippy in the wet! - and Stelvios.
Friday I had built another two bikes for Worm and Harro (David Harrigan) by lunchtime, also Jens's bike and after a quick fit and minor adjustments he was happy. Now all the bikes for the tour riders were built, I started on Nico Mattan's custom that had arrived. Boy did it look like a big frame. (It was an essentially traditional size frame, compared to the somewhat sloping frame of the standard Litespeeds). With a few bikes now built the Litespeeds are looking really good, they don't have any fancy paint schemes to they don't look over the top, but they look good fitted with a shiny Dura Ace groupset. Classic tubes, smooth welds, that's clearly a sign of attention to detail. These bikes look fast, like a race bike should. Here's hoping they ride fast!
I've actually lost count of how many bikes I'd built on Friday - I had to build one up for Hamish Haynes (English Champion) because his custom hasn't arrived yet. But his was a quick build and he was going to fiddle with it later, which was good 'cos I'm told he's pretty pedantic with his set up, measuring just about everything. When you're at this level, you're allowed to be.
On Saturday I finished off the finer points of Worm and Harros's bike, Linds started fitting the Ultremo tyres to the wheels we had - our alloy training wheels, the carbon racing wheels we don't have tubular tyres for yet - but the training wheels are very light indeed. So fitting 36 rim tapes, tyres and tubes was a hell of a job, thanks Linds :)
Sunday was our last day to finish things up and it started with the truck not starting due to a dodgy starter motor. With this we could not take the truck to France, a big pain in the arse. I also had to measure up Haro's bike with his old one, but he gave me a hand because he also likes things to the millimeter. I then had to prepare 5 spare bikes for the tour, to that meant another 2 bikes to completely build. After this, I spent the rest of the day putting together spare parts: 6 spare tyres, 16 tubes, 2 forks, 2 bars, 2 stems, 1 full groupset, along with brake pads, bidon cages, seat posts, cables, bar tape etc. on top of the complete spare bikes of all sizes for the riders racing. You have to be prepared for anything - we did break a fork at the Herald Sun Tour!
So the last 4 days have been very busy and I'm pretty well stuffed, and we haven't even left yet. By the time this is posted by Linds, I will already be in the South of France - 10 hour drive, started 6 hours ago now. 4 of us are taking the 4 vehicles. Wish me luck, for the drive that is.
Oh, the tour de Mediterainee runs along the French Mediterainian coast, from the spanish border to the final day finishing in San Remo, following the same final stage as the Milan-San Remo.
Monday started with not much to do at all, I'd done as much as I could to the bikes. All that was left to do was to fit the chains and align the derailleurs. Cameron Jennings (Worm) arrived in the morning, so that gave me an excuse to get on the tools. Though his bike didn't need much putting together after the flight from Oz, it sill kept me from tinkering withdrawals.
Tuesday was another quiet day, with still no parts to finish the bikes with, so I took the opportunity to relax a little. I borrowed the team van and did a little driving around. The thing was the van was English, so driving it felt normal with the controls on the right, but to actually drive on the right side of the road was a little different. Luckily the power steering was already broken when I got in, and I drove without putting a single scratch in the van, unlike Worm (who had a slight mishap at the local supermarket later that night).
Wednesday was another day off the toold, but Linds had an interview in Gent, a 4 hour return trip by train, so that was our Wednesday spent.
Although there was no nspanner work done this day, I did find out that the rest of the frames were arriving tomorrow and the Reynolds delivery was at the freight company in Brussels for a week because the didn't know where it had to be delivered. So now the rest of the week was looking very busy.
Thursday was an early start on the tools with 3 riders picking up their bikes. The Reynolds order turned up early so I grabbed enough forks to build the 3 bikes, and finished them just in time for when the riders arrived to pick them up. Today my work truck was also delivered from the UK, nicely fitted out with 16 bike mounts and 50 wheel mounts, a high pressure cleaner and an air compressor for those 18 pairs of wheels we'll take to the tour. Two of the bikes I then had to box up so they could be taken back to the UK, as two riders weren't riding the tour. By the end of the day my work area was soon full again with Nick Collins (team owner) bringing the rest of the frames and Gil bringing all the Reynolds delivery. So now I had everything to build a complete bike, except for seats. We got our Schwable delivery also, a season's worth of Ultremo's - the soft compound slick that I tested for 4 months back home prior to their release, awesome tyre, even grippy in the wet! - and Stelvios.
Friday I had built another two bikes for Worm and Harro (David Harrigan) by lunchtime, also Jens's bike and after a quick fit and minor adjustments he was happy. Now all the bikes for the tour riders were built, I started on Nico Mattan's custom that had arrived. Boy did it look like a big frame. (It was an essentially traditional size frame, compared to the somewhat sloping frame of the standard Litespeeds). With a few bikes now built the Litespeeds are looking really good, they don't have any fancy paint schemes to they don't look over the top, but they look good fitted with a shiny Dura Ace groupset. Classic tubes, smooth welds, that's clearly a sign of attention to detail. These bikes look fast, like a race bike should. Here's hoping they ride fast!
I've actually lost count of how many bikes I'd built on Friday - I had to build one up for Hamish Haynes (English Champion) because his custom hasn't arrived yet. But his was a quick build and he was going to fiddle with it later, which was good 'cos I'm told he's pretty pedantic with his set up, measuring just about everything. When you're at this level, you're allowed to be.
On Saturday I finished off the finer points of Worm and Harros's bike, Linds started fitting the Ultremo tyres to the wheels we had - our alloy training wheels, the carbon racing wheels we don't have tubular tyres for yet - but the training wheels are very light indeed. So fitting 36 rim tapes, tyres and tubes was a hell of a job, thanks Linds :)
Sunday was our last day to finish things up and it started with the truck not starting due to a dodgy starter motor. With this we could not take the truck to France, a big pain in the arse. I also had to measure up Haro's bike with his old one, but he gave me a hand because he also likes things to the millimeter. I then had to prepare 5 spare bikes for the tour, to that meant another 2 bikes to completely build. After this, I spent the rest of the day putting together spare parts: 6 spare tyres, 16 tubes, 2 forks, 2 bars, 2 stems, 1 full groupset, along with brake pads, bidon cages, seat posts, cables, bar tape etc. on top of the complete spare bikes of all sizes for the riders racing. You have to be prepared for anything - we did break a fork at the Herald Sun Tour!
So the last 4 days have been very busy and I'm pretty well stuffed, and we haven't even left yet. By the time this is posted by Linds, I will already be in the South of France - 10 hour drive, started 6 hours ago now. 4 of us are taking the 4 vehicles. Wish me luck, for the drive that is.
Oh, the tour de Mediterainee runs along the French Mediterainian coast, from the spanish border to the final day finishing in San Remo, following the same final stage as the Milan-San Remo.
Monday, February 5, 2007
It's like chinese whispers
For those who read the preceeding post, read it again as I have edited it. I in no way meant any harm to the reputation of the sponsors and their equipment. It is just really frustrating to be told something completely different to what the sponsor tells the team regarding equipement.
I am the end of the communication line, but now I've heard it directly from the suppliers that the equipment is on its way and so I should have it in time for the first Tour.
It is however extremely nice to not have dirty greasy hands after working all day servicing sh**ers. Being new, the litespeeds are dirt and grease-free (until they get ridden through the mud).
Ahh, the life of a pro mechanic.
I am the end of the communication line, but now I've heard it directly from the suppliers that the equipment is on its way and so I should have it in time for the first Tour.
It is however extremely nice to not have dirty greasy hands after working all day servicing sh**ers. Being new, the litespeeds are dirt and grease-free (until they get ridden through the mud).
Ahh, the life of a pro mechanic.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
A promise not kept
The first week in Belgium is over, and I must say that most things have gone very well so far, read on and you will get the idea.
The week started off by arriving in our village of Booischot at about 7pm Monday. The flight was long, the food was average and sleep was unfortunately minimal. Getting through Heathrow was no problem as we arrived and departed in the same terminal so our luggage was transferred but there was a couple of questions asked when leaving Brussels airport, ie. My tools. Once I explained I was a mechanic for a pro team it was no problem…sweet.
Gilbert (team manager) picked us up and took us to the team house, where we stay for a month then we move across the street into our own house. The main lounge in the team house was full of team clothing, as box full for each rider and team personnel, including myself. Every possible clothing piece you can think of, even jeans. On Tuesday Gilbert took us to the local supermarket to buy our groceries for the week. I was surprised at what was available, the meat and veggies were fresh and some items were quite cheap, not what some people had told us.
Here's how much clothing we have - the boxes are FULL! And that's not even all of it!
.JPG)
On Wednesday I started on the tools. I had 15 frames in boxes and 15 duraace groupsets. Two weeks out to the first race and I have no forks, wheels, seatposts, pedals or tyres. I quickly organized my workshop and started putting the bikes together. I was able to put one bike completely together as I had only one fork.
Late in the afternoon I was graced by the presence of Eric Vanderarden. For those who don’t know, Eric VDA won the green jersey in the 87(?) Tour de France, along with a Paris-Roubaix and a Tour of Flanders. He was a prominent Belgian classics rider, the Tom Boonen of the late 80’s! He’s now working as the directeur Sportif for the team, and his son Gert is one of the riders, and popped in to see how the bikes were coming along! I knew who he was as soon as he stuck his head through the door, and instantly turned into one of those crazy fans, but too bewildered to say anything! I’m hoping he didn’t think I was some sort of imbecile!
I was up and on the tools by 9am Thursday to assemble the remaining 14 frames. Now I could only fit the bottom brackets, front and rear derailleurs, rear brake and headset cups. So building up the litespeeds took a full day of work, bud I did step our for a couple of hours as the other two mechanics took Lindsay and I to the local bike shop where the team get all their smaller supplies like tubes, cleaners, chains, brake pads etc.
Friday was again a full day on the tools to fit all the cranks and put together the bars and stems ready to go on the forks, after I was given a list of what sizes the riders used. I started by putting the riders name on the bike with their correct frame size, then fitted their crank length. I then started on their stem and bars, putting the correct combinations together as requested by them. These were then labeled and put aside awaiting arrival of forks and wheels.
.JPG)
At the moment the bikes are together as much as possible but with Nico Mattan (2005 Gent-Welvegem winner, ex-Davitamon-Lotto rider) picking his bike up tomorrow, it may be a problem. A lot of this has to do with the missing forks and wheels.
The team has been given 3 bikes for each rider plus a TT bike, but so far we only have 1 bike each and still 5 frames short. For example, I have two riders that ride an XL frame, both riders in the Tour of Mediterainee next week, but I only have one XL frame. Two other bikes will have to be taken off other riders because they have custom built ones coming from Litespeed which are also not here yet. For me this will mean a lot of work swapping cranks and bars down the track. Also once the bikes are built the riders make their own adjustments, small things like cutting off the end of the handlebars because they’re too long. Most of the riders have the old bikes so measurements can be transferred over, but most are arriving just before the tour, and given that myself and the other mechanic, and the 2 soigneurs take the 4 vehicles to the race 2 days before, some of the riders will not have even looked at their bike before the tour, so it will be a busy night before the tour!
These are some of the problems faced with getting a pro team ready. At the moment I have 2 riders picking up bikes originally built for other riders. I’ve done as much as I can with what I have.
So I will fill you in on how next week pans out as far as the bikes go, can they be finished in time and will the team get the rest of the race kit, oh yeah, we only have half the race kit as well, but that’s a whole other can of worms!
you can email me at funkyhoward@gmail.com
Keep riding :)
The week started off by arriving in our village of Booischot at about 7pm Monday. The flight was long, the food was average and sleep was unfortunately minimal. Getting through Heathrow was no problem as we arrived and departed in the same terminal so our luggage was transferred but there was a couple of questions asked when leaving Brussels airport, ie. My tools. Once I explained I was a mechanic for a pro team it was no problem…sweet.
Gilbert (team manager) picked us up and took us to the team house, where we stay for a month then we move across the street into our own house. The main lounge in the team house was full of team clothing, as box full for each rider and team personnel, including myself. Every possible clothing piece you can think of, even jeans. On Tuesday Gilbert took us to the local supermarket to buy our groceries for the week. I was surprised at what was available, the meat and veggies were fresh and some items were quite cheap, not what some people had told us.
Here's how much clothing we have - the boxes are FULL! And that's not even all of it!
.JPG)
On Wednesday I started on the tools. I had 15 frames in boxes and 15 duraace groupsets. Two weeks out to the first race and I have no forks, wheels, seatposts, pedals or tyres. I quickly organized my workshop and started putting the bikes together. I was able to put one bike completely together as I had only one fork.
Late in the afternoon I was graced by the presence of Eric Vanderarden. For those who don’t know, Eric VDA won the green jersey in the 87(?) Tour de France, along with a Paris-Roubaix and a Tour of Flanders. He was a prominent Belgian classics rider, the Tom Boonen of the late 80’s! He’s now working as the directeur Sportif for the team, and his son Gert is one of the riders, and popped in to see how the bikes were coming along! I knew who he was as soon as he stuck his head through the door, and instantly turned into one of those crazy fans, but too bewildered to say anything! I’m hoping he didn’t think I was some sort of imbecile!
I was up and on the tools by 9am Thursday to assemble the remaining 14 frames. Now I could only fit the bottom brackets, front and rear derailleurs, rear brake and headset cups. So building up the litespeeds took a full day of work, bud I did step our for a couple of hours as the other two mechanics took Lindsay and I to the local bike shop where the team get all their smaller supplies like tubes, cleaners, chains, brake pads etc.
Friday was again a full day on the tools to fit all the cranks and put together the bars and stems ready to go on the forks, after I was given a list of what sizes the riders used. I started by putting the riders name on the bike with their correct frame size, then fitted their crank length. I then started on their stem and bars, putting the correct combinations together as requested by them. These were then labeled and put aside awaiting arrival of forks and wheels.
.JPG)
At the moment the bikes are together as much as possible but with Nico Mattan (2005 Gent-Welvegem winner, ex-Davitamon-Lotto rider) picking his bike up tomorrow, it may be a problem. A lot of this has to do with the missing forks and wheels.
The team has been given 3 bikes for each rider plus a TT bike, but so far we only have 1 bike each and still 5 frames short. For example, I have two riders that ride an XL frame, both riders in the Tour of Mediterainee next week, but I only have one XL frame. Two other bikes will have to be taken off other riders because they have custom built ones coming from Litespeed which are also not here yet. For me this will mean a lot of work swapping cranks and bars down the track. Also once the bikes are built the riders make their own adjustments, small things like cutting off the end of the handlebars because they’re too long. Most of the riders have the old bikes so measurements can be transferred over, but most are arriving just before the tour, and given that myself and the other mechanic, and the 2 soigneurs take the 4 vehicles to the race 2 days before, some of the riders will not have even looked at their bike before the tour, so it will be a busy night before the tour!
These are some of the problems faced with getting a pro team ready. At the moment I have 2 riders picking up bikes originally built for other riders. I’ve done as much as I can with what I have.
So I will fill you in on how next week pans out as far as the bikes go, can they be finished in time and will the team get the rest of the race kit, oh yeah, we only have half the race kit as well, but that’s a whole other can of worms!
you can email me at funkyhoward@gmail.com
Keep riding :)
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Lets try get some photos here...
Hmmm, the work space:
The 15 frames and groupsets are in those boxes on the left!
Check this out! The team casual clothing I´ve been issued, and I´m just the mechanic!
Still waiting on the arrival of the forks and wheels. But the bikes should be ridable by the end of the week.
The team kits arrived yesterday, here´s an idea of what we got:
130 small shortsleeve jerseys, 140 small bibknicks, 70 small 70 medium longsleeve jerseys... plus similar amounts of thermal vests and jerseys and long knicks. It equates to one week of winter stuff for each of 18 riders plus a fe w extra.
Gotta go, the guys are here to take me to the bike shop for supplies.
The 15 frames and groupsets are in those boxes on the left!
Check this out! The team casual clothing I´ve been issued, and I´m just the mechanic!
Still waiting on the arrival of the forks and wheels. But the bikes should be ridable by the end of the week.
The team kits arrived yesterday, here´s an idea of what we got:
130 small shortsleeve jerseys, 140 small bibknicks, 70 small 70 medium longsleeve jerseys... plus similar amounts of thermal vests and jerseys and long knicks. It equates to one week of winter stuff for each of 18 riders plus a fe w extra.
Gotta go, the guys are here to take me to the bike shop for supplies.
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