Germ warfare: the secret of Froome’s Team Sky success
WHEN Chris Froome glides victoriously along ong the Champs-Élysées today wearing g the yellow jersey, he will have cycled 2,199 miles, climbed thousands ds of feet over three mountain in top finishes and careered d through 635 cities.
All have ave been physical challengesges of epic proportions. But, ut, for Team Sky, the 32-year-old’s old’s all-but certain fourth Tour de France victory will, in part, represent nt a triumph over ver one of the tiniest est challenges humankind faces every day – germs. For each of the 198 cyclists lists in the com- ompetition, , catchingg a cold can an be more catastrophic c than crashing.
With immune systems depleted d from exhaustion and d a lack of sleep, the riders’ ers’ bodies can succumb b to the ravages of germs s that thrive in extreme heat and the crowds of adoring fans lining their route. This year, Team Sky’s hygiene protocol is the strictest yet after embracing techniques more akin to hospital operating thea theatres. Every day, an advance squads of cleaners, armed with antibacterialantib wipes, disinfectant sprays and powerful vacuum cleaners, has beenbe dispatched to hotels to meticulouslymeti clean each room the nine wearywear riders sleep in.
“The entire staff knows how important hygiene is,” said Sir DaveDav Brailsford, Team Sky manager.manag “We make sure people taketa ownership of makingmak sure they do theirthei bit and also look out for areas wherewh we can do better.b It workswo if youyo personalisesona it. We ask,as ‘ How would you feel if Chris FroomeFroo got sick becausebecau you gave him a bug?’ If riders gettinggettin sick is in any way avoidable, we do our absolute bestb to avoid it. WeW have staff who gog ahead to the hotelshotel before the riders arrive – they clean all the TV controls,contro the taps and the lavatories. Anything the rider is going to touch is cleaned.”
The squad also targets the team bus: every seat, armrest, handle and button is wiped to kill off any lingering germs. Sanitary instruction stickers are posted throughout the coach.
At the completion of each day’s racing, Team Sky soigneurs, the staff who provide massages, carefully remove the competitors’ racing clothes, bag them and take them to one of nine washing machines, one for each cyclist. The machines are fitted into the team truck that travels ahead of the race. The clothes are washed sepa- rately to avoid accidentally transferring infections through the saddle sore competitors’ sweat stained garments.
If that were not enough, every member of the support crew is issued with a hand sanitising gel dispenser and strict orders to use it before the slightest human contact is made with the athletes.
Journalists are also given a squirt of the gel before interviewing competitors. The war on germs continues in the kitchen truck where meals are prepared and the riders eat. The truck is off limits to anyone but the sportsmen, who settle down to a meal in one of the cleanest dining rooms imaginable. The toll from bugs was evident last week. George Bennett, the New Zealander, was forced to abandon the race on Tuesday after coming down with a fever. Thibaut Pinot, the Frenchman, pulled out after being laid low with a cold. Then, Marcel Kittel, the German, blamed stomach problems and a cold for a crash in the Alps.
Prevention, Team Sky has learned, is far better than cure, in part because traditional cold and flu treatments can contain banned steroids.