When I was into road bike racing in my teens, sometimes I was more impressed with the support team than the riders. There's an intricate ballet between the guy on the bike, the guys on the motorcycle, and the crew in the car, and now I finally get to see it from their perspective.
Weaving between cars, other motorcycles, other riders, and onlookers, it's a melee where the mechanics have to anticipate rider's needs and then react within seconds. Communication devolves into shouting and hand signals, until the rider pulls over, rips off their wheel and the mechanic dives into replace it. But the best part is the car-to-motorcycle wheel handoff – that should be a sport on its own.
Advertisement