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I was talking with Super Rookie a while back about nothing important and he had asked me to write up a little something on tech (neutral) race support. I said alright let me think about it and I’ll get you something.

Technical support has historically been one of the most overlooked items for putting on a race (Road, TT or Crit). Many race directors/promoters run on such a shoestring budget that any extra expense will take directly from their bottom line. Providing neutral support should be factored in to your planning just as officials, fencing, PA equipment, staging, police, ambulance and other necessities of hosting an event. Also historically there has not been any good local neutral support to call on. Shimano would be great, Mavic even better, but unless you have a 20K + purse with some great media exposure dream on. So what can be done?

Crits are a fine example of using your sponsors to your advantage. Most all bike races will have a shop as a sponsor. This is a great thing to have. They may donate some product for primes, may even give you a bit of $$ to help put on the race and sometimes they will send out a mechanic to tweak a few derailuers, adjust some brakes and pump a tire or 2. More than likely there will be a wheels in/out pit for the racers. If that mechanic likes to sit out in the hot sun he/she may stay around to man the pit. This is all good, but there are better options that you may not know about.

A bike shop mechanic does not really know the ins and outs of managing a wheels pit unless he/she is a racer as well (good luck on that as he/she will probably be racing). Mechanics that want to polish their skills and learn more about how to provide good neutral support will spend a week at the Olympic Training Center striving to become a USA Cycling Certified Mechanic. Here they sit through classes (but still get their hands dirty) and talk to some of the best mechanics and industry professionals in the USA. These mechanics learn many of the skills needed like setting up a pit properly, making fast efficient wheel changes and most important racer safety.

Here in the Twin Cities we have quite a few USA Cycling Certified mechanics. One thing that you may want to look into is contacting one of these mechanics to manage the wheels in/out pit. This is the most basic of technical support that you can offer to your racers. This mechanic will keep track of the racers wheels and will more than likely take care of the basic adjustments that are needed. The mechanic may or may not charge for this type of service. Regardless this type of service should not be overlooked. If the mechanic just wants to do it as a resume builder great for you, but it is always nice to get a little something for the effort…

A certified mechanic that starts to get more involved in his work may be able to offer neutral wheels to all racers also. This is a great service to offer. This is also something that MUST be communicated to all racers. Put it on your flyers, on the web, word of mouth, whatever, just let people know that they can leave their wheels at home. For the racer that does not have an extra set of wheels to bring in case of a flat, this is huge to them. One thing to remember is that if the racer feels as though he/she got something extra will more than likely come back the following year. The racer will also tell of the great service they received to fellow riders that may want to start racing. This in turn will have a direct effect on racer entries the following year. This type of service will come at a cost. His/her investment will have to be paid off at some time and charging the race director a fee will be necessity.

A mechanic that will want to take their program even farther will incorporate neutral bikes as well. Flat tires are common, happens all the time. Crashes happen also and bikes can be broken. A mechanic that is serious about support will have a small, medium and large bike with him/her. This will complete a neutral pit and the mechanic will be ready for most anything that is thrown at him/her during a race.

Crits are not the only type of race to benefit from neutral support, TT’s and Road Races are just as important to consider for technical support. Racers always need some final tweaking before they go out and if you are lucky you may be able to find a mechanic that uses his/her car to haul bikes/wheels during the race. This mechanic will follow the racers on the course waiting for something to happen.

More than anything, do not forget the racers. Keeping sponsors happy is an important thing. Keeping the racers happy is just as important. These guys and gals pay good money to race. More than anything they want to finish that race. Not being able to finish because of a technical is just a bummer. Indirectly, you can have a hand in fixing that…

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Sean Peotter is the owner of OnSupport Technical Support. Over the past few years Peotter has provided technical support at the Nature Valley Gran Prix and various other races across the Midwest.