With the upcoming World cup in Lourdes this week-end, I wanted to give you an insight on how a downhill racing team is organized and what you have to do to build one!
Let’s say that we want to make the team X.
We’ll need:
- A team manager. Why? To manage the team! And deal with the sponsors, the medias, the riders, the management in general.
- Loads of money. To pay UCI, mechanics, doctors, travels, hotels, etc.
- A truck. Obviously, to bring your riders and the whole to the events. That’s not cheap either. You have to pay the gasoline, the highway.
- Tents. With the logos of all your sponsors.
- A Media crew. To film everything, from the set up of the truck to the race day. The guy won’t sleep all night to edit and post the videos all over the internet. And he’s not working for free.
The budget needed depends on the number of riders or mechanics.
What is the team spirit? Team Spirit is knowing that everyone is on the same level. No one is better than the other. Let’s build the tents together. That’s the foundation. That’s how you connect together and become best friends. That’s how you show your respect for everyone.
Even if having a team is something really complicated, it’s also one of the best things in the world!