The season is over and there's inventory to be doneThe pace is not that of the racing season, but there is a lot of work to do and the first training camps are just around the corner.
We listened three WorldTour mechanics, three reference people in their respective teams, regarding the management of old and new materials. The floor is given to Joseph Archetti of the Team UAE Emirates, Ronny Baron Team Bahrain-Victorious e Fausto Oppici of Team Bike Exchange-Jayco.
What happens in the warehouse of a major team when the season ends?
ARCHES: «After Lombardy, the first thing is to deliver the bikes to the new ridersConsidering that we already have the first training camp in December, there is little time to inventory and reorganize in the best possible wayRegardless, a truck is kept ready to support the first training camp: the vehicle is prepared for any eventuality. New supplies are taken note of, also to optimize the distribution for all the riders.
BARON: «We are fortunate to be essentially divided into two sectors: the racing department and the logistics part, with two distinct staffsWe in the racing department are at the races and are more relaxed at the moment. Those in logistics, who are under a little more pressure now, have to reorganize the warehouse and keep track of everything related to incoming and outgoing itemsThe logistics staff is also responsible for ordering and managing the scheduling of materials. It must be considered that A WorldTour team is a huge business and every single piece needs to be carefully managed.».
OPICS: «We try to understand how many and what materials will arrive, the delivery times and everything that is included in the technical sponsorshipsThis is a sort of starting point, and the material already provided is also included. Without a change of sponsor, some of the material is left or allocated to the riders, so that they already have the product to work on. Each component is subject to evaluation and analysis, fundamental steps that aim for maximum efficiency".
Do you take inventory like at the supermarket?
ARCHES: «The team is a company. Material inflows and outflows, loading and unloading, including returns, everything must fit to the letter».
BARON: «As mentioned before, the team is a real company: of the big ones where everyone has their own jobWe are faced with crazy numbers that are hard to imagine and here it is it becomes essential to keep track in detail. An example: when you change a tubular, you cut the rubber and throw it away, but the valve is kept to track the replacement and this corresponds to a discharge in the inventory».
OPICS: «A proper inventory is made, between the material used and what is left in the warehouse. The same inventory must also take into account the materials arriving from the emptying of trucks, which are real travelling workshops and contain an enormous quantity of components. Each truck carries 25 road bikes, 16 time trial bikes and a spare frame of each sizeTo these must be added the components and surplus components, perhaps those that are subject to breakage. Year after year, season after season, the material is always increasing».
Do the parts, components, and materials generally go back to the companies, or do they stay with the team?
ARCHES: «As far as the bicycle components are concerned, in our case everything passes through Colnago, so our reference is Colnago. It all comes back to them."
BARON: "Everything passes through Merida and so it's the company itself that decides what to do. For our part, we return everything. Everything is categorized and scheduled. And then the analysis of worn materials is carried out. We provide a report that helps us reorder new material. These analyses are sometimes requested by the companies themselves and are useful for product development.».
OPICS: "The supplies are part of one or more contracts involving the team and the technical sponsorsThese contracts also include end-of-season and possibly end-of-contract management."
When will the new components start arriving?
ARCHES: «At the end of November we will have the new materials and the various organizational steps will gradually be activated. The products that were delivered to the riders around mid-October are part of a warehouse stock., specifically dedicated to those operations. This way the new riders have the opportunity to get used to the new bikes.».
BARON: «Victorious is starting to arrive in Bahrain between mid-October and early November. To Today every rider already has a 2023 bike. Gradually the material is integrated into the warehouse in various steps and each piece has its destination."
OPICS: «The ideal would be to have all the components in November, but it is difficult to imagine such a scenario. In recent seasons the delivery of new products has increased, with repercussions on the preparation of the bikes. However, the new components begin to arrive in November, with several deliveries continuing into January as well."
What happens when there is a change of sponsor?
ARCHES: «The changes are an addition to the normal routine and workThey are part of the game, they make the workload increase, but the reality is that if you have a good organization behind you, there is nothing complicated».
BARON: «It's certainly an increase in work and a change in what we consider our normal routine. But sometimes it is enough to change a product and some specifications, be it a frame, the wheels and the whole working system changes. Not infrequently, a change in the specifications of a single piece impacts a change in the working methodology."
OPICS: «The working methods are not overturned, because the modus operandi is the one that each of us has been carrying around for many years now. Certainly, the change in sponsorship and the possible change of bikes leads to an exponential increase in work. The bikes do not arrive assembled and all assembly must be done from scratch..
What's the hardest part of transitioning from one season to the next?
ARCHES: «There is no operation more difficult than another, even if everything iswhat is linked to planning for the next season requires a lot of time and careful management, as precise as possible. As I was saying earlier, a cycling team is a real company."
BARON: "When the racing season ends, we already think about the next one and start from scratchThis is probably the most stressful phase. A WorldTour team, also due to the amount of material it moves and the many races around the world, has an enormous amount of material that must be prepared and processed. Working non-stop, it cannot be ruled out that We, the mechanics' staff, are in line with the optimal workshop setting in the month of May.Obviously, a lot depends on the delivery of supplies. The Covid period didn't help and has amplified the dispersion of energy and the need to always pursue maximum efficiency."
OPICS: «It particularly bothered me redo the coupling between wheels and tubes, with that maniacal attention required for the putty. Now this occurs to a lesser extent, because Tubeless has changed the management of the wheel fleet. And then the total change of bicycles, especially the time trial ones, decidedly complicated to assemble and manage."
