Racing the toughest stage race in the world is not only a torture for the riders. It is also an immense logistic challenge for the support teams. Servicing a pro team like the Olympic Champions’ Team of SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing with six athletes in total, involves intense logistic planning and around-the-clock tech support plan.
“Managing the material side of things is a highly demanding task. However, the biggest challenge at the Cape Epic is to keep up the level throughout the week in terms of maintaining the bikes. At such an intense week with extreme conditions you get quite easily get into a routine and that`s when mistakes happen”, says Yanick – the Mechanic – Gyger, Head mechanic of SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing. “We are two mechanics and we service three bikes each every day. Depending on the stages and circumstances we work till late at night to have all bikes 100% ready to race again.”
The parts which suffer the most are tires and suspension. “The guys race in dusty, sandy trails every day, and after three hours of racing they are getting exhausted, that`s when tires and wheels are getting damaged”, Yanick continues. “The conditions here are so extreme, in case it rains we change the entire bike completely- all cables, drivetrain, disc and brake pads, seal and foam rings of the suspension, bottom bracket, bearings of the entire frame…everything has to get replaced. We literally build-up entirely new bikes. Riders even change brake pads during the race in the worst case of rain.”
Every rider has one identic spare wheelset for the week. SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing has 28 Maxxis Aspen and 18 Maxxis Icon tires. Each athlete has two spare chains, cassettes, different front chain rings. When riders arrive at the finish, bikes are taken immediately by the mechanics who run to wash them. Time is ticking because all bikes have to be ready before midnight.
This process is state-of-the-art at SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing:
Wash clean, dry with a micro fibre towel, take-off wheels, get a general feedback from the riders for possible issues, checking tires for damage, check milk if it’s is still sealing the tire, cassette control and discs for damage, check if all parts of the wheels are still tightened, check all screws of the frame, check all bearings, service all suspension parts, proper drivetrain cleaning, chain lube, adjusting gears and brakes, adjusting and fine-tuning all individual measurements of the riders.
