{"id":195472,"date":"2024-04-19T10:01:14","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T10:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=195472"},"modified":"2024-04-19T10:01:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T10:01:14","slug":"a-deep-dive-with-alpecin-deceuninck-the-role-of-team-cars-at-liege-bastogne-liege","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/04\/19\/a-deep-dive-with-alpecin-deceuninck-the-role-of-team-cars-at-liege-bastogne-liege\/","title":{"rendered":"A Deep Dive with Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck: The Role of Team Cars at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legendary Li\u00e8ge\u2013Bastogne\u2013Li\u00e8ge, also known as La Doyenne, \u201cThe Old Lady\u201d, is right around the corner, coming up on April 21, 2024. The oldest of the five Monuments is run in the Ardennes region of Belgium famous for its hilly profile \u2013 which means killer climbs and a lot of fun-to-watch racing. However, while the riders will always stay the most visible aspect of any race, we wanted to touch base with those involved in the background processes surrounding pro teams at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We had the pleasure of speaking to Jonas de Win who has been the Logistics Manager of UCI WorldTeam Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck since 2019 and who gave us some of his precious time in the midst of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge<\/a> preparations.<\/p>\n

We kicked off the chat with a quite common sentiment these days in the sport: given the rapidly changing nature of pro racing, what have been the major changes in the Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck team within the past few years?<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my point of view as a Logistics Manager, it\u2019s definitely the size of the pro team, which grew a lot. Everything is changing with it: the rolling stock has become bigger, we have now about 80 riders in all groups, so more travel plans, more races, and more travelling within and outside Europe. We\u2019ve been to China, Canada, Australia\u2026 Also, the crew is growing still, more mechanics, soigneurs, and sports directors, and all these people need to be transported as well. Luckily, I\u2019m not on my own anymore, I have two colleagues who are helping me with the men\u2019s team, women\u2019s team, the development teams, and the MTB\/multi-disciplinary team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jonas<\/a>
Jonas de Win, the Logistics Manager of UCI WorldTeam Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Naturally, given Mr de Win\u2019s job, we were curious about how long it takes to transport the entire team, crew, and equipment to the site of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge and get everything race-ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are based in Belgium and most of our riders are Belgian so Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge is a lot less complicated than other races logistics-wise. Furthermore, some riders and crew are already in the vicinity because of past races such as the Amstel Gold Race, La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, etc. For other races, sometimes almost everybody has to fly in but for LBL, we are nearly all local. For example, we have a kitchen truck already ready from La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne and also most of the vehicles including the team bus and truck, so they can hit the road right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u0160koda is the main vehicle partner of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, several other UCI WorldTeams use it as well, and the automaker also just became a new partner of the Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck team.<\/a> What changes and benefits does this partnership mean to Mr de Win?<\/p>\n

\"Alpecin<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never worked with \u0160kodas<\/span> before and we are really excited, mainly because of the bigger volume of things we can fit in given the cargo capacity. For example, last year, we had to transport three riders and their luggage from the airport and it wasn\u2019t possible with one car but with \u0160koda, it is. There is also more space and comfort for passengers, which is especially useful for sports directors and other staff members as they sit in their cars for 4-5 hours at a time during races.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 35 \u0160koda cars in total at the team\u2019s disposal with 7-8 directly on the ground during Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge and 4-5 during Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge Femmes.<\/a> Each of them serves a role and a specific purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fleet is made up entirely of automatic cars as the race rules now require, to increase safety and effectivity. We specifically asked for \u0160koda Superbs to have more space and we also requested more horsepower for the sports directors\u2019 cars so they can keep most of their attention on the race and quickly get where they need to or overtake the peloton. 16cars are fitted with radio communication and 20 have a bike roof rack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first DS car, there is the head DS, assistant DS and a mechanic. In the second DS car, there is sometimes a second head DS, if the race is important and if we expect a breakaway in the peloton, and another mechanic. The other four or five cars are assistants\u2019 vehicles that are coordinated by the DSs, one of them is always a feeding car that also mostly acts as the finish car, with two soigneurs on board tending to the riders. About four other cars are managing the bottle points. In LBL Femmes, the DS-to-assistant car ratio is about 1:4. Although our entire fleet counts 35 cars, we try to reduce the number of vehicles used at races because of environmental concerns. During the race, the cars carry cooling boxes with bidons, a mechanic\u2019s toolkit, spare bike parts, helmets, shoes, raingear for cyclists, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Mr de Win, it\u2019s very hard to say at which point the cars are the most indispensable; seemingly, it\u2019s even when they are standing still.<\/p>\n