Of course every ProTour team has mechanics and they have tools, and typically every top mechanic travels with his own set, but beyond such basics we found some uncommon, fun, and often surprising items that some of SRAM’s top teams utilize everyday. Are they tools in the strictest sense, no, but they do help improve the efficiency and functionality of these teams. Check it out…

Sometimes the distances between places staff need to be is too far to walk, too short to drive, and so teams like Saxo Bank will store a fast yet relatively small Vespa onboard on one of the huge team vehicles. Riders typically are forbidden from riding these for fear of injury and the staff absolutely do not ride the team bikes (except a mechanic occasionally checking a shifter).

Every team has a washer and dryer, and in fact Team Milram have three sets, this is RadioShack at the front end of their team bus.

Team kits are sometimes dried in the dryer and sometimes hung out on the drying rack.

A team can never have too many coolers, for ice cold beverages, which is almost always water.

Cleaning supplies, typically bought in bulk. Most of this stash is for washing the team vehicles after every stage, a clean bus is a fast bus. Notice the SRAM course tape, this is often used to section off an area for riders to warm up and staff to work in pre-stage.

The compressor, a must for any team. You rarely see floor pumps used, its all about efficiency.

The skateboard, another great tool for getting around.

Never underestimate the usefulness of a portable table.

…for holding lots of water bottles

Water. This might be a day or twos supply for riders and staff

And while the tool kit of a mechanic is relatively common at the Tour, the tool case will often display some of their favorite brand decals. In the case of Carlos Sastre’s mechanic we can see the coveted number one decal of a previous Tour winner, and that’s not so common.