Cycling team

A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether recreational or professional - and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important in road bicycle racing, which is a team sport, but collaboration between team members is also important in track cycling and cyclo-cross, .

Composition of a cycling team

While riders form the core of a team, a top team also has personnel who support the racing and training. These include

• A manager, who oversees the team's commitments, sponsorships and general operation.
• Directeurs sportif, who travel to races and dictate the racing strategy. In bigger teams they often drive team cars and have radio contact with the riders.
• Coaches, who direct the team's training.
• Doctors, responsible for riders' well-being and often making sure the riders meet regulations such as those related to doping.
• Therapists, who assist the coaches .
• Soigneurs, who are assistants responsible for feeding, clothing, and escorting riders. They also massage riders.
• Mechanics, who are responsible for the team's equipment.

There are also officers for sponsorship, marketing, and communication.

Cycling teams by levels of commitment

There are different levels of commitment between the riders and the team. Amateur teams range from a collection of riders who identify themselves as a team to those that provide riders with equipment and money. A top-level professional team is registered with the Union Cycliste Internationale, which enforces rules and a points system for professional competition.

Road cycling teams

Team members have different specializations. Climbing specialists grind away on hard inclines; sprinters save their energy for sprints for points and position; time trialists keep speed high over great distances; and domestiques guard the team from rivals and carry food and drink to their leaders.

The leaders of teams are called captains, the rest supporting the captain. The team helps the captain but may be allowed to try to win. The captains have the most media exposure and best chance of winning.

In one day races, one or several leaders are chosen according to demands of the race. In stage races, teams focus on different goals. For example, during the 2005 Tour de France teams such as Discovery Channel or T-Mobile focused on the general classification while other teams tried to win stages or one of the other classifications. In the 2004 Tour de France, Quick Step-Davitamon helped Richard Virenque win the polka dot jersey while Lotto-Domo helped Robbie McEwen win the green jersey. Smaller teams may simply get riders into a long breakaway to get coverage on television. Most professional teams have 10-20 riders.

Teams are generally sponsored in exchange for advertising on clothing and other endorsements. Sponsorship ranges from small businesses to international companies.

The Tour de France between 1930 and the late 1950s was for national teams which carried no prominent commercial advertising.

See also

• UCI ProTour
• Road bicycle racing
• Stage race
• List of UCI Professional Continental and Continental teams