Directeur sportif
Encyclopedia
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team
during a road bicycle racing
event. At professional level, a directeur sportif follows the team in a car and communicates with riders, personnel and race officials by radio
.
The directeur sportif warns of obstacles or challenging terrain, updates the team on the situation in the race, and provides mechanical help. His car usually carries a bicycle mechanic
with spare bikes
, wheels
and parts. It also carries spare water bottles, food and medical equipment.
In recent years the role has increased, in keeping with better team cohesion, tactics and communication
and telemetry
equipment. The directeur sportif can have split times, find where riders from other teams are in the race, and dictate orders to riders. This has made teamwork and tactics more important.
A directeur sportif can also be involved in the riders' training and racing programme. Many are former professionals, such as Johan Bruyneel
and Sean Yates
.
Several directeurs sportifs are also associated with famous riders whom they have nurtured. The relationship between Patrick Lefevère
and Johan Museeuw
, Cyrille Guimard
's relationship with Bernard Hinault
, Greg LeMond
and later Laurent Fignon
; Jean de Gribaldy
with Sean Kelly
and Joaquim Agostinho
; and Bruyneel with Lance Armstrong
are examples.
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...
during a road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
event. At professional level, a directeur sportif follows the team in a car and communicates with riders, personnel and race officials by radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
.
The directeur sportif warns of obstacles or challenging terrain, updates the team on the situation in the race, and provides mechanical help. His car usually carries a bicycle mechanic
Bicycle mechanic
A bicycle mechanic is a mechanic who can perform a wide range of repairs on bicycles. Bike mechanics can be employed in various types of stores, ranging from large department stores to small local bike shops; cycling teams, or bicycle manufacturers....
with spare bikes
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
, wheels
Bicycle wheel
A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels....
and parts. It also carries spare water bottles, food and medical equipment.
In recent years the role has increased, in keeping with better team cohesion, tactics and communication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
and telemetry
Telemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
equipment. The directeur sportif can have split times, find where riders from other teams are in the race, and dictate orders to riders. This has made teamwork and tactics more important.
A directeur sportif can also be involved in the riders' training and racing programme. Many are former professionals, such as Johan Bruyneel
Johan Bruyneel
Johan Bruyneel is a former road bicycle racer in professional cycling and a directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team . Retiring from racing in 1998, he became director of , a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team...
and Sean Yates
Sean Yates
Sean Yates is an English former professional cyclist and head Directeur Sportif at Team Sky.-Career:Yates competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics, finishing sixth in the 4,000m individual pursuit. He also competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics...
.
Several directeurs sportifs are also associated with famous riders whom they have nurtured. The relationship between Patrick Lefevère
Patrick Lefévère
Patrick Lefevere is the Belgian cycling team manager of the Quick Step-Innergetic cycling team. He is from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of the north. He was a professional racer from 1976 to 1979, winning Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne and the fourth stage in the Vuelta a España, both in 1978...
and Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties....
, Cyrille Guimard
Cyrille Guimard
Cyrille Guimard is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and then a television commentator...
's relationship with Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985...
, Greg LeMond
Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Lakewood, California and raised in Reno, Nevada....
and later Laurent Fignon
Laurent Fignon
Laurent Patrick Fignon was a French professional road bicycle racer. He won the Tour de France in 1983 and in 1984. He missed winning it a third time, in 1989, by 8 seconds, the closest margin ever to decide the tour. He also won the Giro d'Italia in 1989, after having been the runner-up in 1984,...
; Jean de Gribaldy
Jean de Gribaldy
Jean de Gribaldy was a French road cyclist and directeur sportif.-Biography:Born in Besançon, former professional racing cyclist from 1945 to 1954, Jean de Gribaldy began a successful career as a directeur sportif in the mid-1960s .Called le Vicomte , he discovered Sean Kelly, Joaquim Agostinho...
with Sean Kelly
Seán Kelly (cyclist)
John James 'Sean' Kelly is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest classics riders of all time. From turning professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won nine monument classics, and 193...
and Joaquim Agostinho
Joaquim Agostinho
Joaquim Fernandes Agostinho, OIH was a Portuguese professional bicycle racer. He was champion of Portugal in six successive years. He rode the Tour de France 13 times and finished all but once, winning on Alpe d'Huez in 1979, and finishing 3rd twice...
; and Bruyneel with Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
are examples.