(electronic music)
- I'm at the Tour de France and I'm excited because
our mates at Cadex have helped get us a behind
the scenes look inside the CCC team mechanics truck.
So, we're going to go inside and have a look, but before I do
and show you all the cool stuff that's in there,
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Let's go in.
(upbeat music)
(laughing)
Well, check this out.
(upbeat music)
It's really nice in here, it's actually,
well it's probably nicer than most people's houses,
to be honest.
It's got a really nice carpet, the CCC logo on the bottom.
And, the first thing to note about this truck is that it
has these side sponsors that come out,
and this is controlled by a panel on the wall here
that's kind of like an iPad built into the wall.
Using this they can control lots of systems including
widening the truck, and it gives loads of space
inside the truck.
And the first question I asked the mechanics was if one
of the mechanics doesn't finish his work on time,
and sort of gets stuck behind in the truck
and the other mechanic starts closing the truck down,
does it come in from both sides like
some kind of Indiana Jones death room scenario?
The answer is, no, there's still space for someone.
I was quite disappointed by that.
Anyway, there's loads of cool stuff in here.
So, talking more about this panel, it controls loads
of systems, not just the things coming in,
but also inside is fully air conditioned, which is great
if the mechanics are working in a really hot environment,
they can be nice and cool inside here.
And, everything's laid out, so we've got all the new wheels
from Cadex, which is the new wheel sponsor of the CCC team.
So we've got a mixture of different ones,
we've got 42mm wheels, and also the 65mm wheels,
and these are a mixture of rim brake and disc brake
because some of the bikes they're using,
the Giant TCRs are rim brake,
but they're also using the Propels which are disc brake,
so quite a lot for the mechanics to think about there.
And on this side, we've got the road bikes, and then
on this side we've got, well a couple of Propels,
but also the time trial bikes, and then
above the time trial bikes are all the time trial wheels.
So we've the new 4 spokes from Cadex.
They look so cool.
And then, there's also the disc wheels as well,
and they're sat out in pairs, so we've got pairs of wheels,
it's a front runner rear in both cases,
and then underneath there we've got a big bin.
Probably why it's so tidy in here, I mean this is certainly
tidier than my bedroom.
I'm quite embarrassed to admit.
One of the reasons why there's so many sets of wheels
in here is because there's different depths
for different things, so as we see with a lot of teams now,
they on the flatter stages favor a deeper,
more aerodynamic wheel, but if it's really, really windy
or if they're going in for the mountains,
they use a shallower wheel.
So, they've got the 65mm wheels
for the more aero demanding days, the flatter days,
and then these 42mm Cadex wheels for the hillier days.
At the back of the truck here is a really important piece
of kit, and that is, the stereo.
The team mechanics, when we go around
to all the team trucks, they always love having the radio on
and listening to tunes when they're working on the bikes
and cleaning them, and yeah, it's very nice of them
to have turned it down while we're filming here right now,
so thanks CCC team mechanics.
There's also some cool bits of gadgetry here.
This is a pump, right, that is used with a pressure gage
on it to inflate the tires, and this is actually built in
to a generator within the team truck, so you just pull
this lever and it inflates the tires.
It's got a gage on it so it's much easier than doing it
with a hand pump.
And this, I really want one of these at my house
when I'm cleaning bikes 'cause these are great.
This is a little air gun, and this is used to dry the bikes
after they've been washed, but also just blows away dirt
and things and it makes it look even cleaner.
So if you're cleaning a bike, this is one of the ways
in which pro mechanics get them
looking absolutely mint every time.
(air blowing)
Some little notes that have been left
by the mechanics here, which is quite interesting.
So, all the bikes are labeled for the different riders
of what they've got, so you can see that Greg Van Avermaet,
his number one race bike he's got that at home,
and then his other one is in a truck somewhere and one is
in the truck here, and he's also got his time trial bike
in the truck over here as well.
SO they've all got multiple bikes, quite interesting,
all the different riders that are in the tour.
The CCC team bikes are black and white
which is a really nice contrast because the team kit
is bright orange, so when you have the orange riders
on the black and white bikes,
I think that looks quite smart.
But, one rider doesn't have a black and white bike.
It's Greg Van Avermaet,
'cause he is the reigning Olympic champion,
so his gold custom painted TCRs stand out, don't they,
against all the black and white bikes.
And a little cool thing I've spotted on the back wall
where all the bike racks are racked, is this little USB port
with multiple plug sockets on it for USB cables.
And the reason for that is because all the bikes have
Dura Ace Di2 electronic group sets,
for them to be charged when they're in the team truck
to make sure that the batteries never run flat
during a stage.
When they're racked into the team truck they can be charged
and connected to the Di2 junction boxes.
Nice.
Mechanics of old never had to do things like that,
well they never had a mega truck like this though, did they?
(electronic music)
So at the back here we've got some bike stands
for when the mechanics are working on the bikes either
in the truck where's plenty of space to do so,
or outside as they do when the weather's nice
like it is today, which is good because it means
we can film in here and not get in their way.
Now, there's also a load of really cool equipment over here.
So we've got Park Tool toolboxes down there
and you'll notice that the riders all have name badges
on their bikes, but the mechanics have name stickers
on their toolboxes.
Mechanics are very very protective after their tools,
so it's cool that each of the mechanics
has got their particular Park toolbox.
SO over here we've got a work bench area
where more technical jobs can do, another tool set,
and a vise for clamping things
and when you want to hit something with a hammer.
And some spare saddles lurking over here as well.
So these, well, this is overachieve badge,
well, as we now know it to be Cadex boost saddle
with a carbon rail that many of the riders are using
and it's now sponsored equipment for the team.
And then some of these drawers.
So, these drawers have these cool little magnetic latches
that lock them so they don't fall open
when they're driving around, hairpins up outdoors,
but let's have a look what's in one of these.
There's a load of brake pads and stuff in there.
This is quite a cool drawer.
Incredibly organized, so we've got spare cleats
and the different kinds of cleats,
so different levels of float.
We've got a box full of yellow ones.
A box full of cleats with the red logos on
so they don't give any float.
And then, all little bits and spaces, giant speed sensors,
spare headsets, spare little computer mounts,
junction boxes.
I've never seen so many Shimano chains, look at that.
Loads of them.
Over here we've got some more cupboards with some bits
and pieces in so I'm going to, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to,
but I'm going to have a cheeky look inside
and see what's in here.
Rifle through their drawers.
This box is full of, well spare bars and stems.
All sorts of bits.
Some spare mounts for competitors, spare handlebars
in case they need to be replaced, a spare Giant Propel stem
in there, all sorts of bits.
I'm really impressed at how neat and tidy it is
and how it's all labeled.
If I had a team truck it would just be like a parts bin
with just everything inside.
And at the back of the truck we've got the scales
that seem to live here, and this hanging down,
so these are used for the mechanics
so that they can weigh the bikes
and make sure that they're just over the UCI limit
so when the UCI comes and weighs them, they don't get,
I don't know, disqualified or whatever happens
when their bikes are under the UCI limit.
But, they're going to be getting some use
because I just weighed Greg Van Avermaet's Giant TCR
with the Cadex 65mm wheels in it, it came out as 6.57 kilos.
So the mechanics are going to have to add a little bit
of weight to it somehow.
(upbeat music)
I better get out of there quick before the walls come in
and crush me like Indiana Jones.
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this look
inside the CCC team truck.
I certainly have, it's the nicest one I've been in today.
And if you have then please give it a thumbs up
and share this video with your friends.
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