- [Matt] Obi-wan, we meet again. Here we are, straight away, no expense spared at
all, and this is essentially the benchmark that all other world tour team buses are
measured by. The Death Star is fully operational.
Straight away, real big attention to detail and split into two distinct parts.
Most team buses are the domain of the riders right the way through,
but the first part of the bus, as you can see here, set out with reclining leather
seats, purely for the riders. So, a grand tour team has nine riders,
so basically a place for each and every rider. And apart from popping to the back
occasionally for meetings, the back entrance, which we'll look at later on,
is essentially for staff only. Let's have a close look.
To this recliner, otherwise known as the droid chair, again, absolutely everything
a rider can want. First and foremost, it's comfortable. They've got lots and lots of
space to get changed, swivel round. They've even got, let me find one,
a little table which, when unscrewed, clips on here. Laptop etc.,
each rider's got one of those, but the seat reserved for king of the team,
really, Chris Froome, is just here. So, this is Froome. Here's his bag,
fully logoed up, so I guess he just likes to sit back here and survey all of his
teammates, so he can keep a good eye on what's going on.
Deflector shields on. Deflector shields on.
And here, Chris' got his race manual, laminated parkour cards,
selection of helmets. There's his vented helmet, for the climbs,
and a choice of aero helmet here, should Chris choose it. "Froome" on the side
there. Still in the rider's area, little kitchenette area here with a sink,
and most importantly, and I haven't seen one team bus without one,
it's the ubiquitous coffee machine. So we'll just stick one of those in.
Just let that go. As I sip my rather tasty espresso, I'm going to have a glance
through the Sky Rider Rules. "We'll communicate openly and regularly.
We'll be on time. We'll respect team equipment. If we want our helmets cleaned,
we'll leave them on the team bus." I like that one.
Lots and lots of space for storage underneath the work surface here.
Let's have a little look. You got your sauces, you got all your tea and coffee
stirrers, etc. You've even got your fly spray here. Chicken breast,
tuna, some nice sauces. Peppery Jalabanero, good selection. Lovely fridge
just here. All the official Team Sky energy products, hydro juice from CMP
there, lots of supplies there. Second two layers, just chilled water and lots of it.
The bathroom area, lots of nicely branded Team Sky towels hanging on the wall there.
So just on the left here, we have a double shower with folding door.
Frosted for privacy, very good idea there, but you can see who's in it and have a bit
of a neighborly chat, if you fancy. The lavatory, frosted glass for privacy .
Oh, they must've seen toilet gags and kept it locked. Wonder if R2-D2 can sort this
one out, wouldn't you reckon? Definitely a job for a droid, ain't it?
Now, this is where things completely change. This is the border line.
Obi-wan, we meet again. So as well as being a sliding door to separate the staff
from the riders when there's important, private team meetings go on,
they even have this. Unfrosted or frosted. Very, very cool indeed.
I can actually play with this all day. Unfrosted, frosted. Unfrosted, frosted
First and foremost, I've just walked over two enormous storage areas.
We'll just lift those up, so really making the best use of the vast volume in this
giant bus. And this is essentially a larder packed with food very popular
amongst teams. Corn niblets, there's rice in here. There's chicken curry,
tomato ketchup, lots and lots and lots of carbs. This is essentially the hub and the
nerve center of Team Sky where all the tactical decisions are made and,
of course, decided upon. Today Brailsford will sit across this very table with Rod
Ellingworth and plan all of their racing strategies.
Yeah? Hi, Rod. Yeah, I can't speak right now, mate. Yeah, I've spoken to Dave
already. Yeah, yeah, I'll get back to you. I'm just in the middle of a meeting.
Yeah, I'm on the Death Star. Yeah, okay. All right, Rod. Cheers.
See you later. Cheers, mate.
So, CMP products, all your flapjacks, all your energy bars. Lots and lots of gels,
too. So, these are laid out by the soigneurs for the riders to come and
select what they need just before a race. All your suntan products,
all your chamois balm, again, more wet wipes. Again, just so the riders...
Even shower-in-a-can, for podium moments.
Ah, as we can see, Team Sky are big fans of smoothies or shakes,
pre and post-rides. So a couple of these in here to make sure the riders get the
energy they need, especially post-race. They've even got a laminator,
or maybe it's a droid. No, these aren't the droids I'm looking for.
As you can see, through this tempered glass table, lots of power points,
USB, loads and loads of access via cables. It's got a Wi-Fi hub in here,
too, so full internet access. And if you could just pivot round,
Mike, nice big video screen there. They've even got a rather nice Dyson hoover here.
That just comes off. This is called the wand, or is it a saber?
Lots of more spare towels here, a couple of helmets, actually Kiryienka's,
and there we go, Mr. Froome. Spare visors here for the aero helmets,
for the Bambinos. Lots of spare jerseys here, and tops. These casual t-shirts for
staff and riders alike. Even a pair of raffia underpants.
Now, this beast of a bag, that I can actually hardly lift up, is a spares bag
for the team. Every rider will have two race bags, one in team car one,
and one in team car two, of course. But quite often, kit gets mixed up and lost,
so at any point, should a rider need something, this is the go-to bag.
Little bit of worry in there, I'm just hoping when I unzip that,
it isn't actual legs and arms. Let's see where it goes. Thankfully,
it's arm warmers and leg warmers, but, again, everything the riders should need,
and that's what it is, extreme weather bag. And that really is an extreme bag.
Now, the original design for the back part of this bus, was so it could be a therapy
area, so riders could actually lie down prone and be looked after by the soigneurs
or the phileos, but actually wasn't used too much for that,
and that's why it's now been adapted to be used purely for staff.
And it's even got lovely mood lighting at the top, just changing now from purple,
into orange, and then red. I tell you what, I feel like a nap.
Very, very calming, that's the Team Sky bus.
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