Belgian team prepare for battle ahead of Flanders and Roubaix
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Team bobble heads for Boonen, Johan Museeuw and Paolo Bettini(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Jack is the team's 'guardian angel' at the Omega-Pharma-QuickStep service course(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
A signed Boonen jersey sits ready to be shipped out(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
SRAM kit out the team(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The team store a year's worth of caps for the riders(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Riders go through racing gloves quickly so it's important to stock up(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Each rider has their own kit box which is topped up on a regular basis(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
A wall of Tacx bottles for the Omega-Pharma QuickStep team(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The team have a vast merchandising operation at their service course too(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Tom Boonen's green jersey from the 2007 Tour de France(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The team created a one-off jersey to celebrate Paolo Bettini’s Olympic, Worlds and national road title(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Sylvain Chavanel's road bike from the 2010 season(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Zdeněk Štybar's cyclo-cross bike(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Tom Boonen's Venge has all his wins decorating the down tube(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Tom Boonen's Venge has all his wins decorating the down tube(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Omega Pharma-QuickStep have a number of their favourite bikes on show at their service course(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Johan Museeuw's 2002 Paris-Roubaix winning bike is stored upstairs at the Quick Step Service Course and still has the mud and dirt from the race(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
A signed jersey from Tom Boonen hangs on the wall(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Specialized provide the bike bags as well as the bikes(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Spare bikes litter the service course but each frame is used for a purpose throughout the seasn(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Hit the showers: The service course has it's own cleaning area for the bikes post race(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
SRAM are a major component supplier for the team(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The Zipp wheels lined up ahead of the Tour of Flanders(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
A team mechanic strips down one of the bikes from Gent-Wevelgem(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The Zipp wheels for the upcoming classics(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
A team mechanic strips down one of the bikes from Gent-Wevelgem(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The Specialized bikes at the Omega Pharma QuickStep service course(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Domo-Farm Frites were based at the Wevelgem Service course in 2001 and 2002(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The Zipp wheels on show at the service course in Belgium(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The team cars arrive back after Gent-Wevelgem(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
It's not about the bike: the team also house nutritional goods(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The frames from Paris-Nice still have their numbers attached(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The wheel for the Tour of Flanders(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
A team mechanic checks over one of the bikes from Gent-Wevelgem(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The way we were: Servais Knaven, the late Frank Vandenbroucke, Richard Virenque, Bram Tankink, Paolo Bettini, Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The team's nutrition is of major importance and the service course provides a constant supply(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
While Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack) puts his feet up at home and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) toys with the entire peloton like a cat with a ball of string at De Panne, Omega Pharma-QuickStep are hurriedly putting their final touches to their Tour of Flanders preparation.
On the road, Tom Boonen is fighting for every race mile he can get while Sylvain Chavanel and Niki Terpstra hone their form ahead of Sunday’s Ronde.
As the defending champions Omega Pharma-QuickStep have a measurable amount of pressure on their shoulders but it wasn’t on show when they invited Cyclingnews into their service course base on the outskirts of Wevelgem.
With the team’s bikes from Paris-Nice racked to one side, all attention is on the Classics. On Monday, just as Cyclingnews visit, the team mechanics are busy stripping down and cleaning the bikes from Gent-Wevelgem. On the other side of the team’s arsenal, staff are preparing wheel after wheel for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Nothing is left to chance, and everything is double and triple checked by the team’s experienced support staff.
Although just a warehouse, the team’s support staff have made something of a home of this place. Posters and newspaper scrapings line the walls and there’s the odd trophy dotted around the shelves for good measure too.
Having been the team’s base since the days of Domo in 2001 there’s the presence of history as well. Johan Museeuw’s wining bike from Paris-Roubaix sits neatly outside Patrick Lefevere’s office, the mud and dirt from the win still gripping the frame.
Omega Pharma-QuickStep will be hoping to add another bike alongside Museeuw’s come Sunday.
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