BENNO WILLEIT: So just finished a race here in Albstat.
Now there's no time to lose.
The tent needs to go down, the floor back into the trailer.
We have to pack everything up again.
And we need to be back on the road on the way to Nové Mesto.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
There's no escape from the work.
Everybody needs to pitch in to stay on schedule.
Even this one years need to roll up their sleeves,
get their hands dirty, and help with the takedown.
SUBJECT 1: The tent goes much quicker down than up.
ANA SUMAH: If it doesn't fit, use more force.
Ugh.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Because we're so quickly traveling from one place
to another, the riders need to use the time
in between for recovery.
And it's crucial that they trust me as a driver.
We can make sure that they're rested and recovered
for the next race week.
PETR VLASEK: I'm driving also big truck.
It was my first experience on the drive to Nové Mesto.
Many people who is thinking that to be soigneur
is just about massages and like therapy of the riders.
But it's a whole day job.
You never know what to expect.
ANA SUMAH: We are driving to expo area in Nové Mesto.
We have to build the tent.
And we're going to drop Sina and Jordan to do
some laps around the course.
SINA FREI: Yeah, today I will ride around the track area
here and have similar conditions than on the weekend.
And I will do some short little efforts
on the similar conditions.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANA SUMAH: I have these soft massage hands
and they need to get all dirty to build this giant tent.
PETR VLASEK: So it's not so easy to build this truck.
The setup is quite big.
And it's not easy to build it up.
ANA SUMAH: Peter's been here longer so he
knows how the system works.
And I try to learn from him as much as possible.
PETR VLASEK: Number two number.
BENNO WILLEIT: Every day, every team member
is adding some new skills to their resume
because we have to do it all.
ANA SUMAH: As soon as the tent is ready,
I have to hurry back and do one of my main jobs
taking care of our riders.
The massage table is a unique environment
because every rider has a special relationship
with massage and me as a massage therapist.
Some of them, they're really into massage.
Some people tell me personal things,
so I become a bit of a mental therapist.
HALEY BATTEN: More importantly, just
having that time on the table to just totally relax and have
a discussion with somebody that genuinely
cares about you is probably the most important thing.
PETR VLASEK: If you have somebody on the table,
you get a lot of informations.
LAURA STIGGER: When I'm on the table, it's, yeah.
It's important to calm down, relax, talk to the physios.
PETR VLASEK: So one part is for sure to treat rider physically.
JORDAN SARROU: Peter looks like a big guy,
but is really soft with the hands.
PETR VLASEK: On the other side, we
need to do the best also, to treat them mentally.
ANA SUMAH: Because the mind needs to recover just as much
as the body.
Blink, blink, blink, blink, blink.
BENNO WILLEIT: For most of us, the job is done at some stage.
But for those guys, the job is never done.
A soigneur is never off the clock.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Our soigneurs are like the lube on the chain.
They keep it all quiet and very smooth.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
PETR VLASEK: Today, we are for the course walk.
Every time it's nice to check the course, after you arrive,
because every organizer is coming with some new parts
on the course.
And it's good to know what you can expect.
And for us soigneurs, it's good to know where is the feed zone
, how far it is from the start and finish.
Sometimes you don't have enough time to go to the course
and see the riders on the bikes, and you are every time super
happy to see them because it's kind of result and part
of your work.
And it's good to have the feeling that they
are doing well on the course.
ANA SUMAH: Because the riders operate at such a high level,
it's very important for us to track everything
they put in their bodies.
That's why we use urine tests to check hydration.
GERHARD KERSCHBAUMER: Time for a pee.
ANA SUMAH: Once we get a sample, we
test it against 11 parameters.
An extremely important collection of data for us
is blood work.
With this data, we're able to tune and change
the diets and lifestyles of riders
so they can be as healthy as possible.
[WHISTLE]
BENNO WILLEIT: So race week looks very dry and hot,
so very different conditions than what
we had last year with the rain and muddy conditions.
This year it's going to be super dry, super fast.
Everywhere is pollen.
It's dusty.
And you just come back yellow.
PETR VLASEK: Riders and soigneurs,
they really need to become a unit
to ensure that our athletes can perform at their best.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANA SUMAH: We also need to do crash assessments, injury
checks, and make sure that the riders are safe to ride.
CRISTOPHER BLEVINS: And it's really nice
having a doctor on the team to be able to patch us up and get
us back to 100%.
ANA SUMAH: After one of our riders has had a crash,
we need to check if there are any neurological disturbances.
So we do a quick test.
Then we can determine if there's any damage.
There's no stronger connection than between an athlete
and a soigneur because we're with them all the time.
We're there when they laugh.
We're there when they cry.
We're there for the big moments, for the small moments,
and everything in between.
BENNO WILLEIT: Thanks to the hard work of our soigneurs
and the rest of the team to get our riders
ready for the new track, the new country, the new conditions,
we are ready to race.
Watch the lights.
[LAUGHING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[YELLS]
SUBJECT 1: Ooh, fancy.
[YELLING]
ANA SUMAH: We are--
[YELLS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SUBJECT 1: Benno, your butt crack is showing.
BENNO WILLEIT: It's not.
Oh, yeah.
[HORN HONKING]