- We're at Vuelta a Espana,
and we've been given access
to come aboard Astana's team bus.
Now I'm pretty excited,
'cause the riders spend a lot of time in here.
So it'll be interesting to see what we find.
(relaxed electronic music)
This is actually a new bus since Si went around in 2014.
Si was lucky enough to have a look around
while at the Tour de France.
And actually, that year Nibali won, well, for Astana.
But since that, they've got a new bus.
So let's see what they've done differently.
So straightaway on the bus driver's seat,
the Vuelta roadbook.
This is like the bible of the race.
Do I look as comfortable as I feel?
I feel pretty comfortable.
This is where the riders sit.
I'm sitting in Miguel Angel Lopez's seat.
This is where he will spend most of the time,
especially during transfers, but also before the race.
It's a place they can get kitted up,
and acts as a place where they can get away
from all the mayhem that's happening on outside.
These seats are, well, not your standard seats.
These are custom-made so that the riders can feel
as comfortable as possible,
so that they can start the recovery process
as quickly as possible.
This is bus is set out in a way
that the seats face into the middle of the bus,
so it's basically where they can chat to their mates
and chat about the race.
See, this is a projector, so they can project the maps
and the DS can run through the route stages
and the plan for the day.
So they've got a projector here,
and this screen will come down in front
so the director can talk to all the riders.
Now, you talk to any cyclist and they'll say
coffee is one of the most important things.
And this bus is no exception.
Big coffee machine.
This is gonna be used throughout the entire Vuelta.
Staff, riders, they'll be getting their coffee in.
Now this is the best bit,
we get to have a look at what is in the fridge.
Got loads and loads of small Cokes.
San Pellegrino, that's the orange type.
The lemon type in a can.
Your yogurts from strawberry
to strawberry and fruits and yogurt.
Got other yogurts.
Sweeteners and creams to go with their coffees.
Fish.
Nice thing about being in Europe
is you get nice big fruits.
So you've got massive sized grapes.
Pasta salads for the riders.
And then you've got this.
Massive box of fruit, from blueberries to strawberries
to pineapple, oh, that's yummy.
Wow, look at that.
Energy products, an array of different ones.
You've got fruit bars,
Total Energy amino gel.
Here we have the caffeine gels.
Purest protein bars, vegan bar.
This is for all injuries.
So you've got plasters, you've got DPs,
you've got ice spray, latex gloves, creams.
You've got tape to tape up the riders, Kinesio tape.
You've then got a microwave, super important.
In here you've got the toilet.
It's actually a big toilet.
The shower here.
You've got three showers.
Don't know if, god, you can't be too tall.
I mean, I'm fairly small, and I can only just fit in.
So we made our way to the back of the bus,
the soigneurs have been coming in all morning
to get the riders' kit ready,
because they're off to stage one of the Vuelta a Espana.
It's actually, stage one is a TT.
So you can see they've got all their TT lids.
They've each got their TT lids in in a nice Lamar cover.
We've also got their kit bags.
So this is Lopez's kit bag.
So he'd have his spare shoes.
Shall we have a quick look?
So his spare shoes, jerseys, gloves.
I'm not sure they're gonna need them, it's boiling hot.
They've even got, I mean I don't know
if they've been talking to Oscar Pujol or Dan Lloyd.
But they've also got loads of hair dryers here.
So that's where Oscar gets it from.
I thought this was quite cool.
You've got stickers here for all the wins.
So you've got Vinokourov's Olympic win,
you've got the three Vuelta wins,
you've got the three Giro wins,
and you've got the two Tour wins,
obviously from Alberto Contador.
Got ice packs for injuries, plenty of ice there.
It's good for storage, pull it down.
(groaning)
I managed it.
So the bus is off now to the start
of the Vuelta a Espana.
I've enjoyed looking around, and I hope you have too.
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