(relaxing music)
- Welcome to our mini tour of Team Sunweb's
Mini Cooper S team car.
(relaxing music)
Well, before we go inside,
let's have a look on the outside of let's face it,
one of the smallest team car in the World Tour.
This is absolutely packed full of features,
believe you me.
Lovely black, kind of minimalistic design but straight away
on top, count those bikes.
Eight bikes on top.
Most roof racks only have seven but somehow they've managed
to cram very efficiently eight giant TCRs on this roof.
Count 'em.
Believe it or not, there is actually a strategy
for putting bikes on the roof of a team car.
In a classic or a course in a grand tour and of course
your protected riders, riders in leader's jerseys,
riders who are protected of a particular stage
where you're gonna need to their bikes first.
That's why on this team car, Team Car One, we've got
Tom Dumoulin's bike on the outside so it's ready to go
straight away and obviously domestiques and basically bikes
of riders that you don't need to get to quite as quickly,
well they're the bikes that are on the inside
and obviously, will take a little bit longer to get.
We've got the Giro stickers on the front.
They're not on the top, on the bottom on this car
Grupo Sportivo.
We've also got three aerials.
So one is for communication with the riders,
one is for radio communication with the race itself,
and the other aerial is for communication between team cars
within Team Sunweb.
So let's have a look inside this cosy but
Very well-appointed team car.
The drivers side, well, luxury leather interior.
This really is a top-end team car.
I remember my grandma's Mini.
This is basically space age compared to that.
It is actually surprisingly spacious.
But every single nook and cranny, every single space
is filled with stuff that the riders
may need out on the road.
This is where the director sportif will obviously sit.
We've got absolutely crammed full with energy products
from their sponsor, Born.
Now hygiene is very important so the germs aren't spread.
So the director sportif when he's handing out the food,
if he's got dirty hands, can give his hands
a nice little clean.
Now, just noticed underneath the saddle,
underneath the saddle sorry (laughs) underneath the seat,
numerous Exteondo caps to hand to the riders,
should the weather require it.
And again, just on the other side here, with the other
director sportif or mechanic will sit, loads more gels
and energy products.
Now as I mentioned at the start, when I was talking
about the radios, three aerials, therefore three
different radio systems.
This orange one here is where the director sportif
will speak to the riders.
And this other radio here is where the director sportif
will speak to the other sports directors in the team cars.
They can speak amongst themselves.
And all the hardware as it were, is just under here.
Just under here too is race radio.
And that race radio actually comes out of a speaker
just out the side here.
As you can see, just fired the car up.
Nice big visual display on there.
It's also fired up the little mini TV screen
and this is where the director sportif and anybody else
who is in the car can actually watch the race unfold.
Then the Giro will generally be tuned into Rai One
or Rai Two watching the Giro d'Italia.
Continuing our Mini tour, let's head into the back.
Blacked out, tinted windows.
Posh.
So.
Lovely smooth door action there.
Here we go.
Inside the back.
This is where the mechanic will live, essentially,
for an entire stage.
I'll just ensconce myself inside here and take a look
at what we've got.
Again, I keep reminding myself this is remarkably
spacious for a Mini.
Fist, and straight up, we've got another TV at the back here
so the mechanic can see exactly what
is being shown in the front.
We've got another slightly more detailed plan
of the bikes on the roof.
As well as all the names of the riders, we've actually
got the different wheel sizes of what the riders
are choosing for any particular stage.
So there's a real mix here orfthe new C40's and C60's.
And also, the C50's, as well.
And that is so important that the mechanic knows exactly
who is riding what because of the adjustment, of course,
on the brakes, given the new widths of the Shimano wheels.
Interesting.
So looking a bit further filled into the pocket, we've got
the classic Giro Garibaldi with all of the race details,
race routes, etc.
We've got a rag.
Every mechanic needs a rag.
You couldn't be a mechanic without a decent rag.
We've got some race oil.
Of course, during a stage, condition can change dramatically
so they need to make sure that they lubricate,
whether there is lubrication on the bike, on the chain,
on the componentry, of course.
We've got another different coloured rag in there
and we've also got some different lube, as well.
Synthetic lube in there.
And also a tub of aqua-proof paste, no less.
Continuing our Mini exploration to the left-hand side of
the rear of this team car, we have two sets of wheels,
two backs and two fronts and a pretty much fully-functioning
Park Tools tool kit, basically.
Folded out, stuck on the back of the seat
with easy access for all of the tools
that a mechanic could need out on the road.
I've also spotted something else.
Check this out.
I thought it was a drill.
It's a pneumatic pump.
How cool is that? (tool sounds)
Now this being a Mini Cooper, it wouldn't be a true
Mini Cooper without the classic double-opening rear doors.
(fingers snap)
(door pops)
Ooh, what a smooth action.
Let's have a look inside.
Here we go.
Automated doors, (snap) click of a finger.
So despite this being a Mini, the space is quite incredible.
It's almost like Dr. Who's TARDIS.
It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
It's absolutely used the space to a maximum here.
Really efficient use of space here.
This is a cool box.
All the riders' drinks in there.
This will obviously on the day be filled with ice, as well,
to keep all the drinks nice and cool,
as well as all the energy products,
water, and carbohydrate drinks.
They've also got, as most teams do, a cheeky little
can of coke, as well.
So a big cool box.
Next to the cool box, we have all the riders' wet bags.
So here we've got Georg Priedler's wet bag.
Here we go, Tom Dumoulin's wet bag.
So everything that Dumoulin will need for a race.
There will be one of these also in the other team car,
as well, so he can have access to anything
at any point of the race.
Pink Giro d'Italia arm warmers.
Woohoo!
Pink Giro d'Italia rain jacket!
Well, I hoped you enjoyed that Mini tour.
I certainly did.
If you don't wanna miss another GCN video, then click
on the globe for absolutely free.
Now for some more Giro d'Italia content, how about clicking
just down here for the Bora-Hansgrohe bus tour.
If you click just down there, you'll get to
Tom Dumouliln's giant.
I'm off for a spin.