Bike Racing - Behind the Scenes

Montepaschi Eroica - Behind the Scenes with GARMIN Slipstream from Media One Multimedia on Vimeo.

I know I am fighting an uphill battle trying to introduce people to bicycle racing. It is hard to understand, and it's sort of like trying to get Americans to watch soccer. Knowing that most of the people who read this blog are not familiar with bike racing, however, I feel compelled to share what little I know in order to provide context for the posts I will be writing in Italy.

Garmin (the GPS company) has a professional cycling team. They published a blog post called Team Garmin video: Behind the scenes in Tuscany. It contains a 14 minute video (embedded above) showing the strategy planning that happens back in the team cars. This is one of the early spring 1-day races in Italy. It has the pro riders, but isn't nearly the spectacle of the Giro.

Take a look at what it takes to get a new bike to one of the Garmin riders in the middle of a race when he has a mechanical problem. The team car makes its way from the back of the pack up to the rider, then swaps bikes and has him riding again within 30 seconds. It's also interesting to see how fast the caravan of cars goes flying through the narrow streets in the little villages in order to keep up with the race. Finally, watch how many things the team director is doing at once. Driving (not easy by itself), communicating with team members and race officials by radio, handing out water bottles through the window, evaluating the race profile and planning strategy as the race conditions evolve, and of course, conducting an interview for your viewing pleasure. I have even seen cases where the team doctor administers first aid and mechanics adjust bikes out the window of the car as they are moving along at 20+ mph. All in a day of racing.