Can’t get enough of the cobble action? Neither can we! This year, we joined INEOS Grenadiers as they prepared for one of the toughest one-day cycling races on earth: Paris-Roubaix. Starring WorldTour riders Conor Swift and Ben Turner, Sports Director Ian Stannard, and mechanic Martti Allesmaa as they share some key insights into how each individual effort leads to a stronger team performance.
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Five words, Paris-Roubaix. Cobbles… …carnage… …hard…. …fast… …exhausting… …there we go. Hi, I’m Connor Swift… …professional rider for INEOS Grenadiers. – My name’s Ian Stannard… …and I’m a sports director in Team INEOS. – Hi, I’m Ben Turner. I ride for INEOS Grenadiers. – My name is Martti… …and I’m one of the mechanics from team INEOS Grenadiers. – I would classify myself as a bit of a… …domestique slash all-rounder on the team. – I think my role changes from race to race… …but I’m definitely a bigger guy… …maybe stronger on the flats, a classics type of rider. – I enjoy taking up the music on the bus. Nickname is DJ Flatcap. Hell of the North because there’s not any other race like it. Someone from the general public wouldn’t believe… …we are riding road bikes on this sort of terrain. – I think mentally it’s a tough race… …because there’s a lot of excitement… …because it is one of the biggest ‘one days’ in the world. Yeah, for sure we change chainring sizes, things like that… …cassettes a little bit and tire options. It’s so, so crucial that you have faith in the components of your bike. So reliable, so good, the quality’s there. Even in races like Roubaix on Sunday… …they work so efficiently always. We had no issues with shifting or changing gears… …or chains coming off or things like that. Obviously the faith we have in Shimano as a Partner, it’s just for us there. – I’m really happy with the DURA-ACE 12-speed groupset. I don’t have to change anything for Paris-Roubaix. I also work during winter at cyclocross races… …there we also use the same groupset, same components… …and it survives in the cross field… …so here in Paris-Roubaix we as a mechanic group are really happy. – So we did a recce of Roubaix and that’s just to refresh the mind. And for any guys that haven’t ridden to see what it’s about… …see the sectors get a feel for the bike set-up… …the tire pressures and everything like that. Yeah, for sure, everyone’s got to say the same one… …it’s got to be Arenberg. – For sure Arenberg, I think it’s the one that everyone talks about in the forest. – And each year you forget how rough Arenberg actually is. Like the gaps in between, the cobbles are unbelievable. And I remember the first time I hit it and you’re just like… …we shouldn’t be going on this with road bikes. It’s made for mountain bikes. – That’s definitely the one you ride down… …and it’s horrible to even get through it… …it’s actually a challenge to do. – Mons-en-Pévèle… – …it’s definitely, again, one of the three five-star sections. Rule one is try not to try not to panic, be relaxed on the bike. In one way you have to let the bike go where it wants to go… …without fighting it too much Carrefour de l’Arbre… …yeah, again, super important one. Kind of like: you ride the corners like a bit of a berm with the cobbles. You take a left hander towards the end… … and then that’s just a long straight where the cobbles are almost the roughest. – Really, the closer you get to the end, the harder they are… …just because of what you’ve done behind. – So we’ve got seven Riders lining up… …we’ve got three mechanics here… …a bus driver, four soigneurs… …two Sports Directors, a coach, a physio… …and then a chef. – I think the most awesome thing about the job… …is the people around me. – So many things can go wrong… …and you could sit on the bus and talk tactics… …for hours and hours and hours… …and maybe none of them become true. – You can make the best plans… …but then there’s crashes, there’s wind… – …I think you have a plan A and then by the end of the race… …you’re probably on plan Z. You remember watching this race as a kid and how special it was. It’s a bit of a dream to do the race… …let alone be in such a team like this. And have the support that we have. – As a rider you’re stressed in the race… …but actually there’s a lot of stress in the car as well… …with the information coming in. But at the same time, it’s an amazing race. The atmosphere is incredible. – The crowds in Roubaix get super close. – The crowds are just great because… …they’re right there on the cobbled sectors… …at the hardest moments, you can see the flags. You can see lines of people screaming, cheering. Maybe you can smell a bit of beer or music or anything like that. The atmosphere is just crazy. – That makes you go deeper and deeper and deeper… …and it makes you remember how special the race is.
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