"Expectations are high, and we want to win both editions, men and women," is the short, intent-filled answer that Lidl-Trek Technical Manager, Glen Leven, gives when asked about the team's goals for Paris-Roubaix this year. The team has enjoyed a strong Classics campaign so far, and the confident, attacking riding by leaders Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven has drawn praise and resulted in a win at Gent-Wevelgem, even if lady luck didn't smile on them quite as much at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
As Technical Manager, Leven is responsible for overseeing the Lidl-Trek team of mechanics, all of the team's equipment, and any prototype parts and testing. He also has over a decade of experience as a mechanic at the top level under his belt.
A few days out from Paris-Roubaix, Leven calmly says, "Now we are set." Plans have been made, the preparation has been done, and it feels like the calm before the storm ahead of the women's and men's races at the weekend. In an exclusive interview with Cyclingnews, he discussed team logistics, mechanics, and equipment choices at what is often touted as the toughest race of the season for both rider and bike.
Paris-Roubaix requires a lot more planning and extra logistics, in no small part due to the narrow, small roads and various challenging pavé sectors.
"Anything can happen until you are at the velodrome," Leven explains. The team calls in favours and uses extra volunteers who are usually friends of - or close to - the team to cover as many points on the route as possible to provide rider support.
"You need more staff to cover all the sectors with wheels and bottles, which is way more than a normal race."
Leven explains the team then has to organise extra vehicles to ferry the added helpers to various points on the course. The cars themselves receive the Roubaix treatment, and the team use BMW X1 models - instead of their usual 3-Series - as they sit higher from the ground. They also replace the under-body plastic tray with a metal one to protect it from scraping and bottom-outs on the cobbles.
Helpers unfortunately can't take advantage of the Lidl connection for a free lunch, though, as Leven concedes the team still pays for all of its groceries.
Bikes and tech
Leven accepts the idea that the days of the specialist Roubaix bike are pretty much over, saying, "90% that's the reality, it's a normal race bike," before adding that the Lidl-Trek men's team use the Trek Madone aero bike exclusively, while the women's team use a mix of the Madone and the more endurance-focussed Domane.
It sounds like at Lidl-Trek, at least, the Roubaix moves of old aren't of concern anymore. There's not much talk of double bar tape or special tricks, just factory-spec equipment that has been tested thoroughly and can cope with the abuse that the callous cobbles will throw at it.
Leven says the team use Loctite on bolts, change bottle cages to sturdier ones, and uses a gravel spec stock Bontrager wheelset, but says the use of grip tape on components is "total old school". The team's chains will also all be waxed by the Belgian company Cyclowax.
Equipment testing specific to the Queen of the Classics has been happening since January with the team leader Mads Pedersen. "We did testing with Mads at the end of January and decided the tyre size for the team." It seems Pedersen's technical opinion matters.
The 2019 World Champion Pedersen, Stuyven and Jonathan Milan are all power and purpose on the bike, as demonstrated by the 56 1X SRAM chainring they will use on Sunday. It's not hard to see that their equipment must be able to stand up to the abuse. "We tested until the limit and even over the limit," Leven says.
No amount of planning can mitigate the risk of punctures, though, Leven admits. "The cobbles are really rough and sometimes if you hit them not good, they cut the sidewall. It's impact or a sidewall cut.
"We inspect everything after the race, and you see some impacts on the rims."
The team use Bontrager wheels, a subsidiary brand of their bike supplier Trek, and are choosing a gravel wheelset option for Roubaix, though the mechanics don't tune the wheel's spoke tension. They are currently paired with prototype Pirelli tubeless tyres and tyre liners to mitigate against those impacts for the race.
"We work with Pirelli to decide the best tyre pressure according to the rider's weight, [which is] 3 to 4.6 bar, somewhere in between these figures." Leven says the new tyre is a new model that is "even faster than the current P Zero".
On the subject of wheels, Leven explains Lidl-Trek are the only team to always use a thru-axle with a lever at the request of the team's riders. This means they can always change wheels themselves in a race or at least remove one ready for the arrival of a support car, avoiding waiting for a mechanic to arrive with an allen key or drill.
This isn't something that every wheel brand can offer, and given the ferocity of the terrain at Paris-Roubaix and the subsequent likelihood of punctures, it's not uncommon to see bikes with allen keys taped to the seatpost on the start line.
Mechanics must feel the pressure at Paris-Roubaix, and the temptation to spend hours checking riders' bikes must be felt at times. Experience and confidence must play a part here, and Leven's own experience appears to stand him in good stead.
"When you see mechanics checking a screw 10,000 times, they are just not confident in themselves," he says. "Maybe at Roubaix, you check it once more, but once everything is checked, it's checked."
The team stick to torque specs on everything. "The recommended torque is the torque we are using, doing over-torque to be safe can create an issue," Leven says, clearly the itch to overtighten a bolt in the name of extra insurance must remain unscratched.
For many riders, even making it to the finish line at Roubaix is the goal. The same can be said of the mechanic's charges. Without perfect bikes, riders will - and do - run into difficulty.
Leven sums up the dedication that is surely a prerequisite at the top level. "It's not enough to be a mechanic, you need also a passion for cycling. And to be a freak, to make sure there's a love for detail and to make sure everything is right and makes it to the finish line."
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