Working with top-level athletes and helping them to achieve their best isn’t the same as tuning bikes in a retail shop. Being a race mechanic requires different tools. I’m not talking about the steel that we all carry in our cases—what I’m referring to are things like anticipation, resourcefulness, organization, and communication. These are the things that separate a good mechanic from a great one.
When you’re working with the pros, it’s important that you don’t leave them guessing. At an event, it’s your job to be sure that there is no question about the readiness of the riders’ equipment so each can concentrate on his or her job—to concentrate on the race and nothing else.
It all begins with conversation. You need to get to know each athlete’s setup, his or her likes and dislikes, riding style, and schedule. Some of this can be picked up through observation, but it’s quicker and more effective to talk it through. By establishing a rapport with your riders, you also start forming a relationship of trust, where they can also learn the best ways to express to you what it is they need from day to day and to understand that it’s going to get done right.
Keep notes. Organization goes beyond having a pocket for each of your most-used tools on your tool case pallets. By maintaining a journal, you can easily track all of your team’s setup preferences. There’s no shame in writing things down to remember, but blowing a simple adjustment because you “thought” you knew it is almost unforgiveable—and it can take a long time to earn that trust back.
Once you have a good understanding of your athletes, you can begin anticipating their needs. This doesn’t mean you can start making assumptions and changing things up at your own whim. Rather, it puts you in a position where you can start asking the right questions, which helps you make your own process quicker and more efficient. Time is always at odds with a race mechanic; so finding ways to steal a little back from the clock will make the mellow times a little mellower and the crazy times a little less crazy.
The crazy times are at their craziest when you’re in a strange place and need to go hunt down a part, chemical, or tool. There is only so much you can carry with you, so there will be times when even the best-prepared mechanic comes up short. Finding even the most basic items when you’re in a place where you don’t speak the language is challenging enough on its own, but when you add the stress of a ticking clock, it can make you want to pull your hair out and run screaming.
Slow yourself down a minute. Use your head. Hacksaw blades, rubbing alcohol, and brake cables aren’t purely North American phenomena. They’re out there, and you can find them. Don’t be too proud to ask other team mechanics, either. Most of them have been in the same spot you are and will be glad to lend a hand. If you can’t name the parts of a bike in English, Spanish, French, and Italian – at least – learn to. While you’re at it, learn please and thank you, too.
I had the chance to put all of this into practice last month at the Laoshan Velodrome during the UCI World Cup Classics – Beijing, in Beijing, China, with the U.S. National Team. This was my first event on the track and with the five athletes sent to compete—Cari Higgins, Cody O’Reilly, Colby Pearce, GIddeon Massei, and Jimmy Watkins.
With only a few days to figure the whole thing out, the learning curve was steep, to say the least. Putting all of these tools to use, starting with conversation, made it possible to pull it all together for a successful weekend of racing. By simply asking each of my riders what they needed from me, taking some tips from Coach Clay Worthington, and keeping notes of all of the week’s developments, I was ultimately able to start anticipating the changing needs of each from day to day. It was a challenging event, and there were slip-ups on my part, for sure. Altogether, though, I was able to manage the team’s equipment needs effectively, leaving the athletes to concentrate on their own performance and not to worry about the gear.
For me, this trip was an invaluable experience in so many ways. I learned a great deal about track racing—an aspect of bicycle competition to which I’ve had very limited exposure. Traveling to Asia is something everyone should do, at least once. Things as seemingly routine as a trip to the grocery store or finding a bicycle shop to track down a saddle become adventures you will be able to tell stories about for the rest of your life. Doing all of this while representing my country at a World Cup competition—well, that’s the stuff of dreams.
Todd “Wolverine” Downs
We have an exciting opportunity for a highly qualified mechanic to gain valuable experience volunteering with the National Team in Europe. USA Cycling is offering the opportunity to travel, live and work based out of our team house in Izegem Belgium. USA Cycling will provide travel, food, and housing for the volunteer. You will be working with our U23 and Junior teams as they race and train in Europe. To be considered you must hold a valid USA Cycling mechanics license, a valid passport not to expire before July 30th and your own tools.
