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Working with Mads Pedersen: ‘If something is off I can feel it’ Kenneth Van Impe works on Mads Pedersen ahead of Paris-Roubaix. He fought on to cross the line with seventh on a day that looked like it could deliver more. Mads Pedersen abandoned along with every other starter except Jasper Stuyven, who suffered a late-race puncture that took him out of contention for the podium. Unfortunately for Trek-Segafredo, there wasn’t much to celebrate Sunday. A backslap, hug, and moral support also come in handy, too. Staffers will be at the ready on the finish line with drinks, towels, and fresh clothes for the exhausted riders as they cross the line. Van Impe and the other staffers know the backroads and access points to arrive in time for the feed zones, and then they will beeline to the finish line in Roubaix. There is a technique to it, it’s something you learn.” “It’s not that it’s rocket science, but if you do it the wrong way, you can cause a crash. “You have to know what you’re doing when you pass up a food bag,” he said. Handing up the musettes might not seem like much when seen on TV, but passing up water bottles and feed bags with the bunch rolling through at 40kph is a learned art. The race is unique in many ways, especially when it comes to bicycles and tech, but when it comes to nutrition, things largely stay the same as any other major one-day monument-level race. A soft drink might be in there and two bottles of energy drinks.”ĭespite the intensity and punishment of Roubaix, somewhat surprisingly there’s nothing special when it comes to feeding the riders during the race. “They are filled with energy bars, gels, and some homemade stuff like pastries and gluten-free cakes. “We pack 14 musettes for the race, two per rider,” he said. Van Impe heads to the day’s two feed zones, loaded with bags and water bottles to pass up to the riders. “We don’t want to take any chances on a big day like Roubaix.”įor a race like Roubaix, Trek-Segafredo brings an extra fleet of vehicles to post up at different cobblestone sectors with extra wheels and bidons. “We double-check everything and make sure we are covered,” Van Impe said.
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The riders have to deliver, and the staffers have to be ready and at the beck and call of the riders to make sure things go off with as few glitches as possible. Once at the race start, the nerves ratchet up as everyone lines up. The entourage is larger at Roubaix, with extra VIPs, sponsors, and technical personnel coming in for the race. At a race like Roubaix, the riders lose their bottles a lot on the cobbles.”Īfter breakfast and a final run-through, everyone packs into the team bus and cars, and heads to Compiègne for the start. “We load up the cars with a lot of extra water bottles. “We have to prepare the food bags and make sure we have plenty of gels and bars to make sure the riders are covered with their nutrition during the race,” Van Impe said. Staffers load up the cars, packing them with extra wheels, clothes, food, equipment, and other gear and necessities the riders will need in the six hours of racing that lies ahead. There’s a frenzy of activity on the morning of Roubaix. Jasper Stuyven says UCI should focus on safety, not changing calendar.Yves Lampaert crashes after colliding with spectator in Paris-Roubaix.Paris-Roubaix: Dylan van Baarle soloes to victory at record speed.The soigneurs and mechanics all have their designated tasks, and it usually starts at 6 a.m. “We usually wake up at 6 a.m., and from there, it’s busy all the way into the night.”įor the support staff, the day usually starts well before breakfast. “Everything starts with a good breakfast,” said Trek-Segafredo‘s Kenneth Van Impe, one of the team’s staffers working at Paris-Roubaix. The race might only last six hours - Sunday’s edition was the fastest on record at 5 hours, 37 minutes at 45.792kph - but it’s at least double that for the mechanics, soigneurs, sport directors, and others working behind the scenes at WorldTour teams.įrom an early start in Compiègne to a wild day on the backroads of northern France to the finish on the velodrome in Roubaix and a late-night dinner back at the team hotel, there’s never a dull moment. If Paris-Roubaix is a long day in the saddle for the racers, it’s even longer for staffers working the French monument. Don't miss a moment from Paris-Roubaix and Unbound Gravel, to the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, Vuelta a España, and everything in between when you