- Canyon-SRAM is one of the most exciting names
in women's professional racing,
and we're super lucky to be joining them today
as they prepare for one of the most important
stage races on their calendar, the OVO Energy Women's Tour
here in the UK.
From getting to know the riders,
to their crucial support team behind the scenes,
I've absolutely no doubt that it's going to be
a really insightful day into the inner workings
of women's professional racing.
(upbeat electronic music)
So it's 10:30 in the morning,
and the riders have woken up here in Suffolk,
had some breakfast, getting ready,
they've got some new bikes to show you,
new kit, which is really exciting.
And we're just about to head out on a training ride
just to warm up and get ready for the first stage tomorrow,
and fingers crossed I don't get dropped.
This could be interesting.
- So then we have, Katherine first?
- Yes, thank you very much for having me.
- So... - I'll be on my best behavior,
I won't take anybody out, promise.
(laughter)
(mellow synth music)
We're rolling out for an hour and a half ride,
thankfully with a café stop, too.
As riders have traveled here from all over Europe,
it's a good opportunity for them to spin the legs
and leader Alice are keen to put in some short efforts, too.
I've got a real feeling of the technical ability
of the team which you just can't appreciate on the TV,
which really sets them apart from
an enthusiastic amateur like me,
even at these casual speeds,
let alone at race pace, rounded by a hundred other riders.
(mellow electronic music)
After our coffee stop,
Kasia heads directly back to race HQ
to get ready for press conference duties,
invited as the tour winner two years ago
after a career-changing solo breakaway
on the very first stage.
So we've just come back from our training ride,
and the riders have gone in to have some lunch
and chill out for the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Joe, the mechanic, is out here
getting all the bikes looking absolutely
spic-and-span ready for tomorrow.
Giving them all a good wash and also
having a good check-over.
Hiya, Joe.
- Hi.
- So, you've got some fabulous new bikes here!
- Yes, exactly, we have a change of color
for this race so it's something different.
It's, of course it's women run,
so to make more women ride their bike,
and so we changed the color for this event,
and, yeah, I think it's looking pretty nice.
- [Katherine] And in terms of setup, between the riders,
obviously they've just switched out
to these bikes for this race.
- [Joe] Yes.
- [Katherine] Does that take you a lot of time
and preparation, in terms of getting the fits right?
How d'you manage that?
- [Joe] Okay, I mean, for sure you have to build
like six new bikes, but I tell you one secret,
for this race, to make it a little bit more easy
for me or for the mechanic, I swapped the seat poles
from the normally race bike.
Because they are used to the saddle,
they are used to the position,
so this is the only part I take
from the old bike or from the normally-ridden bike
and all the other pieces are new.
I mean with the handlebar, we don't have so much
possibilities, with angles, because we look,
use like a cockpit.
- [Katherine] And then, during the race, will you be
in the back of the team car, ready to assist?
- Yes, I sit in the team car, okay on the wrong side
or the other side -
(laughter)
so I have to get used - On the right side.
- I have to get used to this, because normally,
like in the rest of Europe, we sit on the other side,
so we have to get used to this,
it also makes it for the beginning
more difficult, because, like, you have to
swap all of the bikes on the roof.
Because normally, you sit on the right side
and you have the most important bikes
on the right side,
now you sit on the left, so you have to
think about it to put also like,
the most important bikes on the left side.
But yeah, I think after one or two days
you are really into it
and then it, it's fun.
- [Katherine] It's time to check back in with the riders.
So, you guys have had some lunch,
and just chill out for the rest of the afternoon?
Have you got anything particular planned?
- I think the days before the race are always like,
pretty relaxing days, so, we can't wait
to have our massage, Lais and Alessandra are
always giving us very good massage
the day before the race, and some NormaTec boots,
so yeah, it's all about, y'know,
recovery, getting ready,
and maybe, it depends from girl to girl,
like, to me I prefer not to think too much about the race
so I kind of try to do something different.
Watching a movie or reading something and
yeah, just chilling, actually.
- [Katherine] The race this year is really exciting
'cause they've made it even tougher than before,
so there's stages for sprinters, for climbers,
and even a circuit race.
Do you feel like your team selection reflects that?
- Yeah, for sure.
We have, I think a strong team here.
We have so many cards to play for every kind of
situation in the race,
I think we have like, good riders for the sprint.
We have Kasia as the main climber of course,
and then so many good riders for breakaway.
I think we should, this race is a lot about taking chances.
The course is really open to every kind of rider.
- So in previous years, people have said
that the women's tour is too easy.
As a previous winner here two years ago,
how would you take that and how are you
looking forward to this year?
- To be honest, in my opinion,
this race has never been easy.
Like, I do not remember being here racing
and thinking, oh, it's actually okay,
it's not that hard, because roads are rolling
all the time and there's no time to recover,
because you have to keep pushing all the time.
So, if the last editions were considered to be easy,
then I, we're going to be like zombies
after this race.
(laughs)
It's going to be super, yeah, hard to survive.
I mean, but you know, on the other hand
sometimes you hear a lot of people telling
how hard it's going to be, and at the end,
it's normal race, y'know?
We always race aggressively, so I don't believe
that it's going to be that that that more difficult.
- So now we're joined by Lars, who's one of the
two physios on the team.
So tell me, I saw you this morning,
doing all sorts of bits and pieces besides physio work.
What sort of other duties do you
get involved with on the team?
- Actually, everything.
In the morning we do breakfast, prepare everything.
So every nutrition stuff we do, we do laundry,
so, couple washing cars.
- And you've been in women's professional racing
for a long time, ten years, is that right?
- Yeah.
- And have you seen any changes over that time?
- For sure, it's increased, so, it's developed a lot.
So, from the past, like,
really starts, they had to share spare bikes and now
every girl has so many owned bikes,
spare bikes, race bikes, TT bikes, home bikes,
so just from the infrastructure of the teams
it's really changed, and also the power
or like, the strength of the girls just really increased.
And so we have not just one, two riders,
we have fifteen, twenty riders who can win a race.
- Ronnie Lauke is the Canyon-SRAM team manager
and also sports director for this race.
Let's catch up with him.
Ronnie, this is a pretty important stage race
on your calendar, would you say?
- Yeah, of course, I mean, it's the organization
office, too, has done an amazing job to
bring a race that has only existed on paper
bringing it up to life and basically setting
the benchmark for the sport within
a period of five years.
- [Katherine] So, one of the really exciting things
about this year's race is that it's so varied,
so you've got some stages really for the sprinters,
there's even a criterium, and some really
hilly stages packed in at the end of the week.
Have you got a team selection that reflects that?
- [Ronnie] I believe we do have that type of group
that can shine and will put some glory.
We have with Tiffany, we have an extremely experienced
rider, although she is not the one who is
producing the results all the time,
but she's a very important puzzle piece
in our, in our group.
Guiding the young group of riders
like for instance Kasia, I mean,
she is so long around and so long amongst the top riders
in the world, but you cannot forget
she is still 24 only,
and so she doesn't know everything yet.
There's still many things where she can improve
and even have resource to become a better bike rider,
maybe not physically,
but more like how to read bike races
and also to be more confident about herself,
and for that Tiff is a very good teacher.
- And finally, we've got three vehicles on board,
obviously the team car, mechanic's truck,
and your team bus.
Would you mind giving us a quick tour?
- I don't mind, actually, welcome!
- Shall we? - Let's go there, yeah!
Great!
- [Ronnie] So, I'll try my best to explain it,
because it's not my home,
it's actually the riders' and the soigneur's home,
and I don't know really how it's organized.
I am just a guest in here.
So come in.
So, yeah, that's basically the workspace
for the the soigneurs, for the physiotherapists
where they prepare all the meals, all the drinks
for the riders, where they have storage for
the spare clothing, any spare items that the drivers need,
and then of course before and after races
it's a living room for the riders,
where they can relax, recover,
but also have their own little bubble
where they, nobody can talk to them when they,
who they don't want to.
- Yeah, I guess with the like, the number of fans
that follow the races, and all the media attention
it's quite important for the riders,
just to have their own space, their own privacy.
- And maybe, of course we love to have media
and spectators, but there, on the other side
the riders are also, they need to
have their own little bubble, where they feel home
as if in private, as they can think about the race,
how to approach it, and this is actually
their room, so,
where they, yeah, can get ready.
But also, after racing, especially when things haven't
worked out and they don't want to show the emotions
to the people on the outside,
and when things didn't go according to expectation,
they walk in here, close doors, and then
either they become very quiet
or there's a thunderstorm amongst the riders
that nobody should be aware of.
So, it goes in every direction.
- Or, of course, if there's a stage
where it's massively successful,
you could have a party of maybe twelve people in here.
(laughs)
So we're taking a sneak peek now at the back
of the team bus, and this is really some storage
for the soigneurs.
So here we've got which nutrition products
each of the riders prefers both before the race,
during, and after.
So they know exactly what to make up
for who, which is pretty cool.
And then another really interesting thing
that we've noticed in the back here,
couple of years ago, at the Giro Rossa,
which is one of the biggest races in their calendar,
it's very very hot obviously, being July in Italy,
and they couldn't find ice anywhere.
So they took the liberty of installing
their very own ice machine,
so they can always keep bottles cold.
And that's, that's pretty cool.
Now we've been really lucky to be accessed
all areas with the team,
but one thing that we're not allowed in on
is going on in there right now.
And that's the rider meeting, where they're
going to be discussing all of the tactics
and the strategy for the next six days ahead.
So I guess we'd better leave 'em to it.
(atmospheric music)
The day is here, it's time for stage one
of the women's tour.
After a short hour transfer from the hotel,
the riders are kitting up and signing on,
ready for their 160 kilometer day
in the forecasted rain.
All of the training and preparation is done,
all that's left to do now is race.
(uplifting guitar music)
And that's it, now the women have left
for their first stage of their race,
now it's down to the teams to get to the finish
of this stage, make sure everything is prepared and ready,
and then of course it's all over again
for the next five days.
I hope you've enjoyed this video taking a closer look
inside Canyon-SRAM.
If you'd like to see some more from them,
click just down here,
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