Nice Wheels!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. If there was one "car" at the Tour de Georgia this year that caught my eye it was the Mavic neutral support car (shown here in Dalton, GA prior to the Stage 4 start). I caught the Mavic guys on Sunday and talked a little shop with them. On a bad day, they could actually end up changing dozens of wheels. There were actually 3 Mavic neutral support vehicles at the race this year. One was this car. The other two were motorcycles. My apologies, but I don't think I caught a shot of them. The motorcycles only carry wheels - but a lot more wheels than you'd expect.

The Mavic car carries all sorts of goodies, including three spare bikes in sizes 61cm; 58cm; and 54cm. (Unfortunately, I'd be out of luck if I needed a change for my 56cm. As luck would have it, I made it through on my own.) The mechanic I spoke with said they might do one bike change over an entire race. It's just not a typical need with all the team cars and teammates so close. They hadn't done any by the start of Stage 6 this year. He also said that the riders start to get real pissy if you don't have them rolling again within 15 seconds. He said "they either love you or hate you." No pressure, right?


I say kudos to the Mavic guys for showing up and supporting American bike racing. According to the mechanic I spoke to, neither the race organizers nor the teams shell out any cash for Mavic's support vehicles. The Mavic guys just show up, work hard, and get to do a little advertising in their yellow car. They caught my eye! How 'bout yours?