- Pros live on their bikes,
spending hours and hours in the saddle.
And I mean, they get up to some pretty strange things,
and I mean really strange.
- Really strange.
And so in this video, we're gonna be explaining this,
this,
- (gasps) You're stinking!
- And even this.
- (sighs) I'm so relieved.
- Oh my gosh.
- Odd.
(warning siren)
- Some races are really long.
I mean take Milan-San Remo for example,
over seven hours, and sometimes
you just really need a wee!
You might be lucky enough,
and there'll be a lull in the action,
and you can pull over and relieve yourself.
But more often than not, you'll find that
the race is really on and you have to go on the move.
Just excuse me one minute.
Don't be too worried about losing contact
with the bunch, though.
You can always ask a teammate for a helping hand.
- It's alright, mate, I've got you.
- Now, we probably wouldn't recommend you do this
on your local club ride, but in a race,
this could be the difference between winning or losing.
Oh, I needed that!
Now one thing a pro has to be really good at,
is consistently changing the layering of their clothing
to match the conditions they're experiencing.
We all know that they're pretty good
at putting a rain cape on,
and taking it back off!
But, if you pay attention, you might get to see
the rarely spotted, and frankly more exciting,
undervest removal.
- You may have seen Sagan adjusting his bike
mid-race and wondered how on earth he does it,
while keeping control of the bike.
This is for sure an advanced skill,
especially when adjusting your bars,
but pros adjust their bikes all the time on to go.
The most common one is adjusting your brakes,
especially if you have a rim-brake bike.
The worst thing for a pro is hearing
your brakes rub on the rim.
So being able to loosen the barrel adjusters
mid-ride is a skill a pro needs to have
down to a T.
In fact, when done from alongside the team car,
a rim-brake adjustment is the most often
fate mechanical a bike rider seems to have.
- Talking of fixing stuff, my bottle cage is coming loose.
Have you got a tool for me?
Ah!
Nice!
- Taking off your knee or leg warmers on the go
does look like a really difficult skill to master.
But with the right steps implemented,
it can be done.
That said, the pros make it look incredibly easy
and seemingless.
And I mean, it is more difficult with leg warmers
than with knee warmers,
but this is how you do it.
- (Dan) Step 1: bring your knee warmers down to your ankles.
Step 2: roll your warmers 'round your ankle
until close to your pedal.
Step 3: unclip your shoe and pull over your cleat,
and job done.
Step 4: clip back in, and put your knee warmer
back in your pocket, and it's onto the next one.
- Grabbing food and drink from the roadside
is another really important skill for a pro to have,
and in fact can really determine how they get on
in the latter half of the bike race.
Almost all races have a feed zone after around
90 kilometers, as this is when
the rider will generally go on through the
first couple of bottles and some of their food.
Designated feed zones are where the soigneurs
can park the cars and hand out the bottles.
When a rider wants to grab the bottle,
they'll signal to the bunch that they want to move out,
pull over to the side of the road,
reach out, find the soigneur that's dressed
in similar clothing, and grab the bottle.
Musettes are often easier to grab,
as feed zones tend to be placed where the racing
is a little bit faster.
- Stretching: now this sounds really easy,
but when you are racing, you don't have the luxury
of doing yoga poses.
So this is how you stretch on the bike.
- (Chris) So how do they do it?
Well, the most common stretch is the one for your quads.
Unclip your shoes and bend your leg
so you rest your foot on your saddle.
And if you want to give yourself a deeper stretch,
then sit back on your foot.
- There you have it, the pros do get up
some pretty weird things.
- But, if you're not a pro cyclist,
you probably don't really need to try any of those.
- No, that's probably true.
And if you did enjoy this video,
then give it a big thumbs up.
- And for another video, check out this ask the pros.