To get on the podium at ultra-distance events like Paris-Brest-Paris, you need to ride for almost two days virtually without unclipping your feet from the pedals. Yet every few hours, you need fresh bottles, different layers and the right food. It’s only possible with the help of a support vehicle, and so, scurrying around the hardened riders at ultra-distance races around the world are a busy swarm of vehicles, driven by friends and family members.
As the riders tear through the landscape, their support cars try their best to get ahead to set up an aid station at the next checkpoint – not an easy feat when the riders are travelling over 30kph on small, direct roads. Usually, the support teams arrive at the checkpoint with a few minutes to spare. Sometimes, that allows for a little sleep, but usually, there’s far too much to do for that. Bottles and layers need to be clean and ready; sports drinks need preparing, mixing and shaking; nutrition needs weighing out; every item needs to be accounted for.
At the 2023 edition of Paris-Brest-Paris, GCN found out exactly what it takes to support ultra-distance cyclists, and saw first-hand the sacrifices made by the wives, parents and siblings of the best ultra-distance cyclists in the world…
Read the full story here.
