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mechanics-day-working

Mechanics for the 22 teams at the Tour de France put in long hours keeping bikes in top working order. Photo by Jason Sumner

There's no such thing as down time for Geoff Brown and his fellow Tour de France team mechanics. A veteran of 19 Tours, Brown is head wrench for the U.S.-based Garmin-Sharp squad. On average, he gets five hours of sleep a night during the three-week journey around France. If he's awake, Brown says he's either eating, working or using the bathroom. "There's no time for anything else," he says. "Down time is head down time."

During the Tour, Brown's workday typically starts at 6 a.m., sometimes earlier depending on when the day's stage starts, how far the drive from the team hotel to the start is, and if there's still bike work to do.

"Usually we can get everything done the night before," says Brown, adding that at minimum every bike gets washed and checked tip to tail. "But if one of the guys crashed or there's been a lot of flat tires, there's a lot more to do. Sometimes we have to finish things up in the morning."

After a quick breakfast, Brown and his team air up tires, then load bikes onto the team cars for the drive to the start. Assuming no riders have dropped out of the race, that means nine primary bikes on the roof of a support car, plus nine spare bikes on each of the two team cars that will follow behind the race.

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Garmin-Sharp's Geoff Brown (upper left) starts his day with a quick breakfast, then gets bikes loaded onto the team cars. Rider rain bags fill up the rear of the team cars, while two sets of spare wheels, plus a handful of tools and spare parts, join Brown in the backseat. Photos by Jason Sumner

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Each roof rack can hold four complete bikes. The other five are loaded front wheel off, three facing forwards, two backwards. There are also racks for three sets of spare wheels, with another two sets of wheels kept inside the car on the back seat behind the driver. Bikes are arranged on the roof of the follow cars based on each rider's role on the team. Protected GC leaders or top sprinters' bike are given priority.

"Whenever we pull over during the race to do service, we get out of the right side of the car, so the back right rack is the easiest to get to. That's where the team leader's bike goes," explains Brown.

Also loaded inside the two follow cars are rider rain bags, a tool kit, spare parts (derailleur, spare chain, bottle cage), energy bars, gels, and about 100 filled bottles.

"We also have a bunch of electronics on board. There's one radio to listen to radio tour, which is the what the race organizers announces play-by-play and instructions on. We have car-to-car radio to talk to our other team vehicles. And we have a radio to talk with the riders," says Brown. "There's even a small TV so we can watch what is going on in the race."

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Brown uses a rudimentary chart to keep track of where each rider's bike is on the roof. The driver's side door is filled with bars and gels that can be handed out the window to riders during the race. Three radios and a TV help staffers communicate with the riders and keep track of the race action. Photos by Jason Sumner

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Continue to Page 2 to learn more about the life of a Tour de France mechanic and see an extended photo gallery »



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Team mechanics spend the bulk of the day inside the team car waiting for something to happen. Photo by Jason Sumner

After all bikes and gear are loaded, the mechanics split up. Two drive the team truck to the next hotel. The other two settle into the back passenger-side seat of the respective team cars where they'll spend the rest of day on high-alert.

"You're basically just listening to the race radio at all times," says Brown. "If there's a puncture or one of our riders crash, the organizer announces the name and the team and then we get to that rider as quick as we can to give them service, be it a new wheel or a bike."

Team cars are typically driven by the director sportifs (think head coach and assistant coach), with another team staffer usually riding in the front passenger seat. Sometimes VIPs or members of the media get that final seat, in what's the equivalent of standing next to the head coach during an NFL game.

At the end of the stage, team cars reunite with the team bus near the finish line. "Riders usually do a 10-minute post-race cool down on rollers. When they're done we load all the primary bikes back onto the soigneur cars and head to the hotel," says Brown. "Then we get to work again."

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Once set-up at the next team hotel, bikes are washed and checked. If there's been a crash new parts are swapped on, then checked to make sure set-up is exactly the same as before. Photos by Jason Sumner

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"Our guys are on [Shimano] Di2 [electronic shifting], so we don't have to mess with cable replacement all that much," says Brown. "Sometimes it's new brake cables, sometime brake pads, sometimes handlebar tape. If there's been a lot of flats, new tires are put on the wheels.

"If one of the guys has crashed there's a lot more work to do. That happened yesterday (on stage 3) and I had to replace the saddle, the rear derailleur, the chain, bar tape, and one of the pedals. He did a pretty good job on it."

Brown and company also have to charge all the Di2 batteries. "Some models have external, some internal. With the internal set-ups, you actually have to plug the bike in like and electric car," says Brown. "With all that, we're usually done by around 9 p.m. But when guys start crashing, that pushes it to 11 or even midnight sometimes. Like I said, there's not much downtime."

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While mechanics do their work, other team staffers keep the fleet of team cars clean and do laundry. Photos by Jason Sumner

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MECHANICS DAY GALLERY