IF you thought professional cycle racing was all about one man and his bike, then think again.

The six riders in a Tour of Britain team are just the most visible aspect of each squad.

Behind the scenes of British outfit Rapha-Condor, there are six backroom staff and a fleet of vehicles supporting the team on each stage of the eight-day race.

A team manager, two mechanics and three masseurs are needed to keep the squad on the road.

The team carries with it 12 bikes, 18 sets of wheels, plus a van to track the team round the course and a truck to service the riders at both ends of a stage.

Team mechanic Andy Verrall said he will be up by 6am on every day of the race and won't finish before 9pm - assuming all six bikes are running smoothly.

He said: "A lot of people don't realise what goes on to get the six riders on the road.

"We do stage races like this on a low budget. The big Tour de France teams have big 7.5-tonne trucks with all their equipment on board.

"What we do is on a smaller scale but is the same as a Tour de France team. We have to work to exactly the same standards."

A team vehicle tracks the peloton around each of the stages in the race, covering at least 100-miles a day.

If one of the cyclists gets a puncture or is involved in a crash, Rapha Condor carry six bikes to replace them - riders can change bikes on the side of the road if they get into trouble.

The bikes themselves are technically very specialised, built for speed with tyres running at 120psi, or eight bar, of pressure.

Mr Verrall said: "They have to be built to go quickly. They all have 20 gear ratios.

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