Originally Posted by
slcbob
At times there is some fussing because the teams have certain kinds of special kit and the organizer-provided kit isn't quite so spiffy; IDK how that sorts out.
…One of their things was that each rider had their own washing machine in the truck, not just laundry bag. The thought being if Bob had some bacteria or a saddle sore, we wouldn't want to fester it on over to Joe by washing their stuff together or one after another. IDK if they still do that. There are also some pretty impressive cooking setups, again, not wanting to risk using the hotel kitchen or some unproven food source that exposes the riders to intestinal bugs.
Yeah, that reminds me of when Mario Cipollini was in the peloton. As a sprinter, he would occasionally capture the yellow jersey. But he was a very flashy and colorful individual. So when he had the jersey he wanted ‘everything’ he wore/used on the bike to be yellow. Someone…either his team, or his own personal assistants would have to hustle to get everything overnight to be ready for him in the next day’s stage. Gloves, socks, shorts, helmet, sunglasses frames, bike frame, seat…everything. Some things the team wouldn’t necessarily be providing. There were times that he had to pay fines because his kit, or his bike didn’t match the TdF organization approved design for the team.
Regarding the specialized food preparation…I’d heard that before. They’ve done that for a long time. And it makes sense. I hadn’t heard about the individual washing machines. That’s interesting.
Dan