- [Rider] A key skill for anybody that wants to get into
long-distance road racing is the ability to pick up
a bottle or a musette from the side of the road.
So coming up, we're going to show you exactly
how to do it.
- But it's a team effort, though,
so make sure your helper watches this too.
Here's a few tips.
(intense music)
Where you choose to take your bottle is the first thing
you're gonna need to arrange.
Now, try and get a road that's slightly uphill.
Then, you'll be going slower.
Because, the faster that your rider is going,
the harder it's gonna be to take the bottle.
Come on, Dan, you're only two minutes down, mate.
On the other hand, you don't want to do it on a steep climb
where you'll be making a really big effort
and probably not wanting to take your hands off the bars.
- Pre-arranging the perfect place to feed
will mean that you know exactly where on the course
your helper is going to be.
And therefore, you can get onto the
correct side of the bunch well in advance of seeing them.
Now make sure that if the organiser
has a specified feed in on the route,
your helper is stood within that
and on the correct side of the road.
As a final little tip,
make sure your helper is wearing something bright
that stands out, like a bright, red GCN coat
or, if it's warm enough, some of your own team kit.
- So, what about the actual hand-over?
Well, as a helper,
how you hold the bottle is very important.
Don't make the mistake of holding it like this
with your hand wrapped around the main part.
Like this, it will be a hard smack
when the rider's hand meets the bottle
and it will be harder for you to let go.
Instead, hold the bottle like this, at the top.
This will leave the whole bottle clear
for the rider to grab.
The second point to make is that
you shouldn't move the bottle.
Hold it still.
It'll be far easier for the rider to grab the bottle
when its not a moving target.
- As the rider, your first responsibility
is to make sure that you're in the right place,
at the right time.
Because when you're around a bunch of riders,
you don't want to be swinging across the road,
all of a sudden.
If your helper is keeping the bottle nice and still,
then the job should be pretty easy.
Make eye contact with them and give a little nod
so that they know you're ready.
Hold your arm out in front of you
and then just as you make the slightest contact
with the bottle, grab and simultaneously move your arm back.
This will effectively lessen the impact speed and
make it slightly less likely that you'll drop it.
- Most of the same rules apply when collecting a musette
or a feed bag, including a similar section of road.
Come on, Dan!
- As the rider, what you want to do is aim to grab the bag
at the bottom of the straps, rather than the top.
This will mean that it doesn't pull your arm
when you finally take the weight
and also that it doesn't swing about so much
once you've grabbed it.
And then it's simply a case of putting it
over your shoulder and head like so.
Swing it around to the back
if you need to change back onto the group,
but if there's not so much urgency in the race,
you can start taking out what you need immediately.
- As the helper,
all you need to do when you hand off the musette
is to hold it out to the side,
grip it tightly, and hold it very still.
That makes it nice and easy for the rider to grab.
Now, another little tip that you can adopt
to stop the straps from slipping through the rider's hand
as they grab them is to tie a nice, little knot in the top.
Now, a little, cheeky pro tip for a shorter race
when you don't need a musette full of food
is to attach a gel to the lid of your bidon.
Two for the price of one.
Good luck, good luck.
- And that's it.
Practice makes perfect though, as ever,
so if you've never done this before,
make sure you do practice before the big day.
Make sure you let us know how you get on with
these various techniques in the comment section down below
and if you haven't done so already,
please subscribe to the channel
by clicking on the globe
which is somewhere on the screen right now.
- Now for another video about feeding,
exactly how to fuel on your ride,
how about clicking, just down here.
And for a look deep into the pockets of pro riders
at the Giro d'Italia a couple years back,
click just down here.