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 of any kind - whether they are recreational or professional - and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important in road bicycle racing, which is a team sport, but in track cycling and cyclo-cross, collaboration between team members is also important.

Composition of a cycling team

While the riders form the core of a cycling team, a top-level cycling team also has support personnel who perform various tasks in support of the team's racing and training activities. These include:

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• A manager who oversees the team's commitments, sponsorship efforts, and general operation.
• Directeurs sportif who travel with the team to the races and dictate the racing strategy of the team. In the bigger teams they often drive the team cars and have radio contact with the riders.
• Coaches who direct the team's training efforts.
• Doctors who are medical doctors responsible for the riders' physical well-being and are often also tasked with making sure that the riders' conditions meet the various regulations, such as those related to doping.
• Therapists who are responsible to assist the coaches with the riders' physical well-being.
• Soigneurs who are assistants responsible for various things from feeding, clothing, escorting the riders.
• Mechanics who are responsible for the team's equipment.

There are also officers for various responsibilities, such as sponsorship, marketing, and communication.

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