Amgen Tour of California 2019 Official Program

AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA | OFFICIAL 2019 PROGRAM | 19 2019 At some point we have to say, “You’re get- ting a bike change instead.” You have to think fast on your feet when you jump out of the car to service a rider. Sometimes, the team will provide their own wheels, which is great for us. During the race, how many vehicles do you have in the caravan? We have three cars and two motorcycles. Typically, there will be a car and a mo- torcycle up the road for the breakaway. When a breakaway gets about 30 sec- onds on the peloton, we’ll drop a motor- cycle in the gap because it’s more agile than a car. Once the gap gets to a minute, we’ll replace the moto with a car. The mo- torcycle will drop back to the front of the peloton. Their new job is to cover poten- tial chase groups. We also have a car behind the peloton and another back with the second caravan. So, if something happens, say for example, car 1 is dealing with a crash, car 2 will come up and take its place. How do you work with the team mechanics when the race is in progress? Oftentimes we’ll be starting a wheel change when the rid- er’s team car shows up. For us, an assist is as good as a save. We at least got it start- ed. That’s another job of the car behind the peloton. We have to pay attention to the radios. If an official summons a team car up to help a rider with a mechan- ical and they’re already busy with something else, or another rider, that’s when we step in. It seems like having every- thing dialed in, being on the same page with your team, and quick thinking makes all the difference when working neutral service. That’s the trick, to make it go seamlessly. At the end of the day, if no one says anything about you and you did your job, that’s great. PHOTO: GREG MIONSKE PHOTO: GREG MIONSKE PHOTO: BRIAN HODES/VELOIMAGES