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The Ken Ilegems Diary
Telekom mechanic Ken Ilegems provides an occasional look behind the scenes into the mechanic's truck at the races.
Index to Ken Ilegems diary entries
Dortmund Six and "Mannschaftstreffen 2002" - Not everything is business
Hi to you all,
After a short period of relative rest, I was asked to add another race to my schedule: the Dortmund Six. Rolf Aldag, winner in 2000 and 2001, decided to have another go at it - and of course, he needed a mechanic. So early in the morning on October 1, I drove to Germany once again.
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In a 6-day race, the first day and the last are the most difficult; days 2 to 5 are a routine matter. The biggest adjustment is the working hours. In a road race we start early in the morning and most of the times we are finished before dinner, but in a 6-day we start working around 11am and finish somewhere in the middle of the night after the last event. Also different is that we have to check and adjust the bikes several times between the different events - most of the time, we change the gears or build in a disc wheel according to the next event (be it the the lap record, 500m time trial, madison, points race, derny, 1000m, elimination…).
It's fun to do something different once in a while, and working with Rolf always brings fun, so time went by very fast, and before I knew it, I was on my way back home. Rolf, paired with Silvio Martinello, finished second place.
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After the Dortmund Six I worked a little in the team's "service-course" to prepare everything for our annual "Mannschaftstreffen". It is a weekend, this year held in Rottach-Egern near Munich, where the whole team gets together to make arrangements for the coming season.
The riders undertake their first medical and condition tests there, and fit their new clothing. But that's not all… all the team's sponsors are represented and all the riders have to make a "tour" - fitting sunglasses and shoes, getting a new SRM training system, get their pictures taken, picking up their new training bikes, wheels and spare material for home, having a meeting with the sports directors to discuss their programs - a really busy schedule.
Of course not everything is business, there's also a lot of pleasure every year. This year we had a visit to FC Bayern Munchen (also sponsored by T-Mobile), some dinners - including a welcome party for our new riders (every year a classic), and some free time to go swimming or shopping.
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The visit to the Bayern soccer team was something special. Five of our riders did a penalty shootout with Oliver Kahn as defending goalie. Italians must have soccer in their blood, because Gian-Matteo Fagnini scored a nice goal, the only other rider who managed to score one was Erik Zabel although Klöden's effort deserved more then hitting the crossbar. In exchange six soccer players tried to beat a distance in 45 seconds on the rollers set by Alex Vinokourov. Striker Giovanni Elber seemed to have the best legs.
At the end of the weekend it's always nice to see that our newcomers are almost completely fitted in. It's a good point to start from for a successful campaign. Next meeting: training camp in Mallorca, starting January 5. The whole team will be there except for those who will be at the Tour Down Under. Until then I try to enjoy the time left at home.
Till next time,
Ken
