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Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the world of professional cycling? This is the time of year all the new kits are released, all the fancy gear is finalised as the teams get ready for the first race of the season, the Tour Down Under in Adelaide.

A small selection of kit is organised for the first race of the season in Australia

But well before now things need to be accounted for. Each team water bottle that is thrown in the final kilometres into the crowd to make a souvenir for someone has to be ordered well in advance. But how many does a team go through each year? Well here’s some stats of the 28 strong Garmin-Transitions team, with thanks to a recent article on Velonews…

Hungry anyone? A team of professional cyclists requires enough calories to send a rich man broke!

• The team will chew their way through 700 Vittoria tubular tyres in a year (yes that’s about 2 a day!)
• 100 bikes by Felt
• 200 Mavic wheels
• 30000 Clif bars & energy gels
• 315kg of energy drink powder ( basic maths = approx 1kg per day!)
• 200 tubes of chamois cream
• 2500 musettes
• 22,000 Camelbak Podium water bottles (yep, 785 per rider)

A collection of water bottles, ready for a new season

No wonder the riders throw their bidon out towards the end of each stage of the Tour de France. There’s plenty more where that came from!

As for kit, each rider receives their kit from Pearl Izumi; 12 pair of bib knicks and 6/7 jerseys for the start of the racing season. More kit follows as the team races more and more throughout the season. And don’t forget the winter jackets, tights, gloves, caps, overshoes, helmets, shoes, etc etc.

Logistical nightmare? You bet! Every young cyclists’ dream to be looked after like this? Absolutely!