Etixx – Quick-Step mechanic Kenny Latomme has given a breakdown of logistics of getting his team to the Tour of Dubai in his blog entry below.
There is a lot that goes into logistics of Etixx – Quick-Step traveling to a race. Take Dubai Tour, which we are racing this week. The team met up in Paris. Everyone is coming from different directions so this way we have a meeting point. From Paris, we travel together for the rest of the journey to Dubai.
Getting all the equipment checked in is always a little stressy.
We have 15 bikes, 13 suitcases, three iceboxes filled with Etixx bars, gels, recovery shakes, and more. We also bring our rice cooking machine and all the ingredients to make fresh rice cakes. Bidons and supply bags are also in those boxes. On top of that we bring massage tables. As you can see, that is a lot of stuff we bring with us to the race.
With all this luggage we need “all hands on deck” to carry it all. So everyone helps out!
Once on the plane everyone can relax and enjoy a movie, and try to sleep as much as they can.
It’s a six hour flight, so that’s actually not too long considering other flights to places like Australia. Once we arrive in Dubai we are three hours ahead.
When we arrive in Dubai it’s time to collect all of our luggage/bikes/boxes/tables. Each of these boxes weighs 26 kilograms.
We always keep our fingers crossed hoping all of our belongings will arrive with us, and arrive the same condition as they shipped. It’s always a chaotic moment if a bike or a bag gets lost, trying to get it back. You lose a couple days you could be spending preparing for the upcoming race.
In Dubai we were very happy to see the bikes all arrived!
Get a sneak peek inside the bag!
We collected everything, and now it is time to go to our hotel.
The first step getting everything in the truck.
Then, Arrivato!
Now it’s time to go and train!
