2023-07-20 11:24:16
The sports director is a central element in a team, during and outside the events. On the Tour de France, there are three per team, in three different cars. And from these cars, they manage the race of their cyclists using a radio and headsets to communicate with each of them.
The bulk of their work is done upstream of the stages. The sports directors go on reconnaissance, directly on the ground of the different courses of the runners. Their goal: to analyze every aspect of the race that awaits the cyclists. Elevation, typology, wind direction, weather conditions… Everything goes into establishing the appropriate strategy and providing the team with the most complete and precise briefing possible. They also have an important role during the time trial, where they inform and encourage their champions in real time.
Generally, the sports directors of a team are former riders. For example, on the Tour de France 2023, one of them at Groupama-FDJ is Sébastien Joly, professional cyclist from 2000 to 2011. We can also mention Frédéric Guesdon, currently sports director, but also the last French rider to have won Paris-Roubaix in 1997.
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