BENNO WILLEIT: We're back in Europe,
the home of most of our races.
Here, we have a lot more moving parts.
We have a whole circus and a whole infrastructure
that we take from one race to the other, and it's massive.
Our home base is very unique.
You wouldn't think that Specialized Factory
Racing is based on a farm.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You just need to look around.
We have it all.
We have cows in there.
We have chicken and sheeps.
There's tractors driving around.
It's super unique.
What we show at the events here is slightly different than what
we actually start from.
We make it work.
And it also shows who we are.
Hey, Peter, we need mountain lions].
BENNO WILLEIT: Because it is the first race here in Europe,
that means that there's a lot of preparation
going into it, from changing from winter tires
into the summer tires.
And everything needs to get back into the cars,
from lubrication to the polish we need for the bikes, and all
the spare parts, and tires, wheels,
design components, the infrastructure, that's
the catering equipment, our coffee machine, tables
for the mechanics, work stands, all of that
stuff needs to go in.
We even have our own trailer for the floor
because the underground is always
changing wherever we are.
So we want to have it nice and clean, neat,
every time we go somewhere.
Even garden hoses, power washer, everything
is going back, from the base we have into the cars.
You can see, everyone is helping each other
and making sure we don't forget anything back at the base.
That's another beauty of this sport and being a team.
Now, we've got everything we need in the truck,
and we can go pretty much everywhere.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
PETER FELBER: Peter, yoohoo.
BENNO WILLEIT: Once we get to the new place, first of all,
you're going to wash down all the cars.
Everything needs to be nice and clean.
And once that's done, then you drive into the tech area,
you park it, you line it up, and then
you try to get the tent up as quick as possible.
It takes everybody to build that tent, from the soigneurs,
to the mechanics, to performance managers, catering,
everyone is helping build.
This is a team effort, and we need everyone on board.
This place keeps us very safe.
It keeps us warm.
It keeps us dry.
The wind has no chance when it blows through.
HALEY BATTEN: So it's a good spot for everybody, yeah.
Yeah, connect and have a good time.
BENNO WILLEIT: Once that thing is built, it looks pretty.
And the people inside, even more.
[LAUGHS]
PETER FELBER: Hey, guys.
I'm Peter Felber, one of the two mechanics from the Specialized
Factory team.
And now, I show you our pit.
OK, here we are in the dining room.
One of the most important things, our coffee machine.
Without coffee, we cannot work.
Here, all the food gets served.
Here we eat, everybody together.
And, actually--
GINO LAUREYSSEN: (SINGING) O sole mio.
PETER FELBER: Ah, Gino, this is our chef.
GINO LAUREYSSEN: (SINGING) Good morning,
o sole mio, my friends from Austria.
Every day is sausages, from the morning till the night.
PETER FELBER: (SINGING) And now, we are here
in our Wahoo warm-up area.
(SPEAKING) Yeah, this is the area
where the riders warm up and cool down.
Hello, Jordan.
Let's go to the meeting room.
And here we are in our meeting room, the quiet room,
actually, because you can close the door,
have meetings in here.
But afterwards, afterwards--
JEROME ALIX: Hey, guys.
I'm Jerome Alix.
I'm the head mechanic for Specialized Factory Racing,
and I'm going to show you around the workshop.
At the back side of the truck, that's
where we have all the bikes during the day.
We have two a-frame with all the S-Works on it.
This is my workspace.
So this is kind of my life bubble during the race week,
I would said.
We are too mechanics here in Albstadt, so Peter and I.
And we have different ways, like toolbox, different way how to
we build bikes and everything.
So we each have different layouts.
So this is the garage.
So here at the entrance, we have the ice machine,
washing machine, and dryer.
We have workbench when we need to do heavy stuff like cutting
steel tube or something.
All the Motorex products are stored here in those cabinets.
And during we travel, we put all the bikes inside
with wheels on the top.
And all the spare wheels are inside, ready for the race.
We have spare frames at the back, spare bottles.
So now it's time to work, so get out of here.
BENNO WILLEIT: Albstadt is very special
because that's one of the only events where we actually
have riders picking different bikes from hard-tail
to the full suspension bike.
And it's kind of down to the rider, but also the conditions
you face for the weekend.
CHRISTOPHER BLEVINS: It's a roll of the dice with the weather.
And some years, it's just beyond awful.
Some years, the sun comes out, and you're fine come race day.
I think having some flexibility and being OK
with the uncertainty of things is the approach
you have to take here.
PETER FELBER: Yeah, it's not an easy decision.
HALEY BATTEN: For me, when you're deciding bike
and what to ride, it has a lot to do
with where the course is rough, and where
the roots and the rocks are.
CHRISTOPHER BLEVINS: I think there's a mental level when
you're on your full suspension, and you just trust the bike
a little more on the descents.
But I'm really kind of trying to ride that razor's
edge because you really need to do that to win here, I think.
BENNO WILLEIT: So for this week, it's all about the testing
beforehand, to really make sure that we
have the fastest bike and equipment
for every individual rider.
We learned a lot over the years, and data is the foundation.
You need something to look at and compare from one season
to the next season, from one setup to the other.
And that's why data collection is super important.
MARCEL KEYSER: We have a data acquisition
system on these bikes.
What we usually use to measure only is the suspension data.
But here, we want to also measure
the frame vibration to tell us where
the benefits of a hard-tail, what
are the downsides of a hard-tail, which helps us
to make the best decision for any individual rider.
The full suspension bike is much smoother
on the course, where the hard-tail is more agile.
It's quicker, it moves quicker.
But it definitely is much more vibration
that the body needs to absorb.
One big difference between a hard-tail
and the full suspended bike is the risk
of having a puncture on the rear wheel.
And with having an acceleration data from the frame,
we can predict if we are risking a puncture
on the hard-tail bikes or if you are in the safe zone.
SUBJECT 1: It's May.
It's Albstadt, Nove Mesto.
We're back at the double with those two famous races.
SUBJECT 2: To be with the Specialized Factory
Team and a new setup, I think it's just--
it's a good chance to just go for it.
There's nothing to lose.
BENNO WILLEIT: It's time to go racing.
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