Meet the mechanics behind the scenes of the World Championships
It's not all about the racers
It's not all about the racers
The World Championships is all about the racers. It’s their one shot to become immortalised in the history of mountain biking and the biggest race of the year.
It would be naive to think that they do it alone though. Behind every racer is a team of managers, physios and, of course, mechanics. Without the correct bike set-up, even the best pros would be going significantly slower than they normally do.
Add on top of this all the ruined wheels and punctured tyres that are accrued over a weekend and mechanics start to become very important indeed – they even put up the pits! In short, a team without a mechanic is like a bike without a chain – it may not be the most exciting bit of kit, but you won’t get far without it (unless you’re Aaron Gwin of course)
Despite all the great work they do, mechanics are largely ignored over the course of a World Cup weekend so it’s great that this video from Specialized gives them a little bit of the lime-light.
World Champs is a stressful time for mechanics too as they often have prototype gear or one-off bikes to perfect for demanding racers, an especially difficult task on a track that’s as challenging as Vallnord.
Will these guys be able to pull together a race winning bike for Aaron Gwin or Troy Brosnan on Sunday? You can watch the race live on Red Bull TV to find out.