A day in the life of a pro race mechanic - with Drapac Professional Cycling - David Rome / Immediate Media
Jeff Crombie has worked with some of the world's biggest and best teams – and he also has a tool named after him that sits in most pro's tool boxes - David Rome / Immediate Media
Australian Jesse Geisler got his start in the earliest days of professional mountain bike racing as a specialist technician. Since then, he's set up a successful fabrication business and built a strong reputation for himself as a mechanic. He's holding a tool he created for his own use, to hold the crank while power meter spider bolts are accurately torqued - David Rome / Immediate Media
The day begins - Geisler inflates the tubulars of all bikes prior to leaving for the race start - David Rome / Immediate Media
With Jeff Crombie in the team car for the day, his tool bag is packed and awaits - David Rome / Immediate Media
Even the team staff must represent sponsors while in the public eye. These guys aren't hiding in a basement or at the back of the shop - David Rome / Immediate Media
Jeff Crombie is a good friend of Jason Quade, the owner of Abbey Bike Tools - David Rome / Immediate Media
Toe clip straps are always handy, from fixing broken shoes to holding down bikes on the roof in high winds - they go wherever the mechanics go - David Rome / Immediate Media
While the mechanics do final preps to bikes, the soigneurs get the riders' lunches ready - David Rome / Immediate Media
Drapac’s Directeur Sportif Tom Southam works out the day's exact strategy prior to leaving for the race start of stage four. On the right is an example of the list that sits in the team car for quick reference from race radio announcements - David Rome / Immediate Media
Joining Sky with perhaps the coolest cars in the peloton, Drapac is now sponsored by Jaguar - David Rome / Immediate Media
The bikes are loaded and everyone is getting ready to roll out - David Rome / Immediate Media
At the start – the race bikes are unloaded - David Rome / Immediate Media
Jeff Crombie checks each rider is happy and all is well - David Rome / Immediate Media
Crombie takes care of a pressure change request from one of the riders - David Rome / Immediate Media
Helmets await riders, while the boot holds spares and hydration for the race - David Rome / Immediate Media
The team Directeur Sportif (also our driver for the day) makes key stage notes for the riders on tape. Riders cross reference these distance points with their Garmins - David Rome / Immediate Media
Martin Kohler asks Crombie for a last minute cleat fix - David Rome / Immediate Media
It's not just about the bikes; the mechanics are there to help the riders - David Rome / Immediate Media
And the race is on. Following a mechanical problem the day before, Drapac wasn't contending the general classification and so was a bit back in the team car queue - David Rome / Immediate Media
Jeff Crombie sits in the back seat with wheels awaiting in his lap - David Rome / Immediate Media
Timothy Roe drops back for hydration and a quick chat - David Rome / Immediate Media
Crombie keeps busy by calling out rider names in the break and their general classification standings. Calls over the team radio are quickly made over if the break is threatening - David Rome / Immediate Media
The race radio announces a Drapac rider has a flat. Crombie is out of the car as it pulls up and well on his way to fixing it - David Rome / Immediate Media
As the roads are wide, we were allowed to drive up past the queue of team cars and get to the rider while he was still rolling. Here Crombie makes a quick swap - David Rome / Immediate Media
A big push and Will Clarke is rolling once again - David Rome / Immediate Media
It's now up to the rider to get back to the pack, Tom Southam briefly driving behind to make sure he's rolling without further issue - David Rome / Immediate Media
A few other riders suffer flats too – they ride behind and between the slipstream of opposing team cars until they reach the back of the peloton. While giving your own riders a draft is a big no-no, giving a helping hand to others is fairly normal to see and is often given a blind-eye by race commissaires - David Rome / Immediate Media
Martin Kohler drops back for domestique duties, quickly filling his jersey with multiple bottles handed to him by Crombie before speeding off back into the pack - David Rome / Immediate Media
As a rider drops back for a quick feed, Tom Southam takes the time to double check all is well in the peloton and that the team is protecting its day's asset - David Rome / Immediate Media
Eskys are refilled by passing through a feed station - David Rome / Immediate Media
While the race is on, back at the event village Geisler spends his time working on other team bikes and whatever else needs to be done - David Rome / Immediate Media
Replacing damaged tubulars also happens in this 'quiet' time - David Rome / Immediate Media
Rims await for prep and glue…. - David Rome / Immediate Media
…as do the tubs - David Rome / Immediate Media
The race ends, riders are taken back to the hotel and the mechanics begin washing bikes - David Rome / Immediate Media
Wheels off, chains are degreased with brushes…. - David Rome / Immediate Media
….as are cassettes before being rinsed with water - David Rome / Immediate Media
The rest of the bike is then given a sponge bath - David Rome / Immediate Media
Even the tubulars are cleaned, removing most the debris that can cause flats - David Rome / Immediate Media
Everything is then hosed off and hung up to drip dry - David Rome / Immediate Media
While this is all happening, Jesse Geisler is on wrenching duties and starts by drying the bikes completely and then checking them over - David Rome / Immediate Media
Whatever needs adjusting or repairing at this point is done - David Rome / Immediate Media
Crucial bolts are all then checked for correct torque. Riders at this level put extreme forces through the bikes and the mechanics take no chances - David Rome / Immediate Media
After a wash, chains and other derailleur components are lubed - David Rome / Immediate Media
Geisler checks over a wheel for any sign of spoke damage or trueness issues - David Rome / Immediate Media
At this point in the day, changes to bikes for the next day are made if needed, such as swapping out chainring or cassette sizes. For example, we're told that Wouter Wippert won the race's final stage with a 55T chainring - David Rome / Immediate Media
Much of what the pro mechanics do is simple maintenance. Except for crashes or unexpected mechanicals, little goes wrong that needs actual repair - David Rome / Immediate Media
"Cleaning is half job" - Jeff Crombie made it a point to mention that the job is far from just working on bikes. Cars are cleaned, bikes are stored away and that's a day - David Rome / Immediate Media
Jeff Crombie's tool bag - he told us he leaves the hard-case toolbox at home as it's just easier to travel with a soft bag inside your suitcase - David Rome / Immediate Media
A few prototype Abbey Bike Tools from Jeff Crombie's tool bag. The upcoming pedal spanner (top left), a threaded hammer fitting to turn the cassette tool into a light duty whacker (top right), a crank plug for an exact saddle height measurement from the bottom bracket (bottom left) and a compact, super light bearing press with 24 and 30mm steps (bottom right) - David Rome / Immediate Media
The race mechanics to the world’s fastest seem to have a near-perfect job – travel the world; work on bikes; hang out with cycling's biggest names... With this enviable stereotype in mind, we thought we'd take you behind the scenes to show what it takes to turn a wrench at this level and what a day in the life of a pro race mechanic generally involves.
We were given this opportunity at the 2015 Santos Tour Down Under, where Australian Pro-Continental Drapac Professional Cycling outfit invited us into their team car.
The Tour Down Under is generally quite relaxed for mechanics – the stages are relatively short and dry and the home base doesn’t change for the week. With stress levels low, we joined two of Drapac’s well-established and respected mechanics – Jeff Crombie and Jesse Geisler – to see what their working lives entail.
Jeff crombie has worked with some of the world's biggest and best teams, he also has a tool named after him that sits in most pro's tool boxes: jeff crombie has worked with some of the world's biggest and best teams, he also has a tool named after him that sits in most pro's tool boxes
Jeff Crombie is privileged to have a tool named in his honour
Canadian Crombie, originally from Calgary, has recently worked with the likes of Sky and Orica-GreenEdge but started out in bike stores many years ago. If you’re a fan of quality bike tools, the name Crombie may be familiar – with Abbey Bike Tools' cassette tool being named after him.
Australian jesse geisler got his start in the earliest days of professional mountain bike racing. since then, he's set up a successful fabrication business and strong reputation for himself as a mechanic. he's holding a tool he created for his own use, to hold the crank while power meter spider bolts are accurately torqued : australian jesse geisler got his start in the earliest days of professional mountain bike racing. since then, he's set up a successful fabrication business and strong reputation for himself as a mechanic. he's holding a tool he created for his own use, to hold the crank while power meter spider bolts are accurately torqued
Jesse Geisler started out in the early-days of professional MTB racing as one of the few specialist technicians
Australian Jesse Geisler comes from a fabrication background, where he takes great pride in being able to create things from a concept. Geisler has been in the Australian cycling industry for more than two decades and runs his own repair and fabrication shop, based in Melbourne, when not wrenching for Drapac.
Work days for Geisler and Crombie start with getting the tyres for all team bikes and spare wheels inflated for the race. From here, team cars are packed, with bikes and spare wheels loaded onto the roof. Key riders are given priority in that their spare bikes are positioned in the quickest to reach spots.
Crombie told BikeRadar that if the mechanics do their jobs and have everything prepared in advance, the job needn’t be high stress – it’s usually just pitching up at the start and helping the team and other staff in general preparation.
Martin kohler asks crombie for a last minute cleat fix : martin kohler asks crombie for a last minute cleat fix
A quick fix to a cleat before the stage start
Occasionally this isn’t the case, and sometimes last minute things arise. We experienced this with Martin Kohler wanting his cleats adjusted 10 minutes before the stage start, something Crombie completed without issue.
“If riders wake up feeling a bit sore in the back or something, and know what they want adjusted, then we’ll oblige," he said. "It’s when riders are guessing that it can become a problem and turn stressful for everyone involved in the last minutes before the race or even once the race starts.”
Once the stage starts, there’s one team mechanic (Geisler and Crombie alternate this each day) who joins the Directeur Sportif (sports director) in the main team car.
We sat with Crombie as he worked with Drapac’s DS Tom Southam in closely listening on general race radio for updates of rider mechanicals, riders falling back to feed, pit-stops and general events in the race. Crombie was hands on with finding rider’s overall positioning in races, while Southam decided if the breaks or attacks were threatening and communicating this information over the team race radio.
Martin kohler drops back for domestique duties, he quickly fills his jersey with multiple bottles handed to him by crombie before speeding off back into the pack : martin kohler drops back for domestique duties, he quickly fills his jersey with multiple bottles handed to him by crombie before speeding off back into the pack
Crombie may be sitting in the back seat, but he's constantly busy either communicating race information or handing out bottles
This is all happening while Crombie awaits with spare wheels ready, in case of a rider flat. Next to Crombie on the cramped back seat is a large cooler, holding the bottles he hands out to the domestique riders when they drop back.
“You can be the best mechanic in the world, but that isn’t what the job is about," he explained. "The wrenching is just a small part of the daily role.”
Once the stage is over and the bikes are once again loaded onto the team cars and taken back to base (usually the hotel, or the event centre in the case of the Tour Down Under). Here, the mechanics get busy with preparing the bikes for the next day of racing.
The race ends, riders are taken back the hotel and the mechanics begin washing bikes : the race ends, riders are taken back the hotel and the mechanics begin washing bikes
Bikes and cars must start the following day spotless
“Cleaning is half the job,” Crombie continued. “Our sponsors are what keep the peloton rolling and they want their product shown in the very best possible way – that means keeping them perfectly clean every day, including the cars."
That cleaning is something Geisler and Crombie take in turns, alternating between wrenching and cleaning every second day. Once the bikes are suitably spotless, they're almost ready to be hung up for the next stage.
First though, we'd see Geisler grab a freshly cleaned bike and bring it to his stand. The bike would be dried with compressed air and a clean rag before being completely checked over.
Crucial bolts are all then checked for correct torque. riders at this level put extreme forces through the bikes and the mechanics take no chances : crucial bolts are all then checked for correct torque. riders at this level put extreme forces through the bikes and the mechanics take no chances
Checking bolts on a daily basis
We watched Geisler check over every main bolt on each bike, check through the gears, the brakes and carefully inspect the tyres and chains for any signs of damage. If all is well, the chains can be lubed and the bike hung up in storage.
Where a rider is involved in a crash – or has perhaps locked a wheel to avoid one – parts are serviced or replaced. As the wheels are all tubular, they're prepared days in advance, so a flat-spotted or cut tubular is simply swapped with a fresh wheel. The swapped-out wheel has its tubular replaced for future days to come when time allows.
“The idea of opening up bearings and replacing cables every stage comes from the days of Merckx – those bikes would otherwise fall apart," Crombie noted. "These days, the bikes are so good you’re not pulling them apart after each stage or race – it’s mostly about keeping them clean and double checking for any problems that may arise.”
When asked about chain wear, Crombie responded: “Things like chains we replace every 1,000 to 1,500km. Often it’s not about wear, but really because these guys ride cross-chained so often on climbs and the last thing you want is a rider going head first into the ground because of a snapped chain. We’ll replace all the chains after [the Tour]”.
“It’s a hard job – there’s always something to do – and when we’re at events, we really don’t get time to go see the sights," added Crombie. "It’s a bit of a thankless job, especially when you consider that these riders are entrusting their lives in our ability to safely and correctly put their bikes together.”
Crombie and Geisler, like all the other mechanics at the Tour Down Under are clearly passionate about what they do, and hard work seems to be part of the job description.
Click through our gallery above for a photo journal of the day with Drapac, as well as a sneak peek at prototype tools from Jeff Crombie’s bag.
