Requirements to be a professional mechanic in the World Tour

If you have ever thought about working for a professional cycling team, perhaps this is your opportunity. The Visma-Lease a Bike team is looking for one and we have taken the opportunity to review the job offer and get an idea of what are the requirements that are asked of the mechanic of Jonas Vingegaard, Wout Van Aert or Sepp Kuss.

What is needed and what does a professional mechanic do in the World Tour?

As you can imagine, being a mechanic for a professional team is much more than assembling, adjusting, and fixing bicycles, it is a specialist job that is carried out in a dynamic and high-performance environment. And for this, you have to be well prepared and have skills typical of a mid-to-high level position in any large company.

Following the thread of the job offer that the Visma-Lease a Bike team has just shared. A professional cycling mechanic will be responsible for:

• Support during competition: Being in the car with the sports directors and offering immediate technical assistance in case of any mechanical problem
• Post-race repair and maintenance: Ensuring that the bikes are in perfect condition every day
• Preparation and organization of spare parts: Ensuring that there are always enough components available for the entire team, and that includes the huge amount of tires and wheels that a team like Visma needs for a Grand Tour
• Transport of bikes and equipment: Ensuring that all equipment arrives and in good condition at each stage or race
• Construction and maintenance of bikes: At this point, the Visma offer specifies that it will be to work with road bikes, so we imagine they may have specific mechanics for other modalities such as Time Trial, Gravel, Cyclocross, or MTB
• Teamwork: Communicating and collaborating with sports directors and cyclists about the specific needs and conditions of the bikes

For all this, the specific requirements, in terms of experience and knowledge, in this case, and that could be valid for anyone considering becoming a professional mechanic, would be:

• Previous experience: At least 3 years of work as a mechanic, preferably in the field of road cycling
• Specialization and technical knowledge: Component brands have continuous training for mechanics and specialists through which knowledge and qualifications are acquired to configure, repair, or maintain components as sophisticated as transmissions, brakes, suspensions, etc. Professional mechanics usually train in as many brands as possible, but for this particular job, Visma will positively value experience with SRAM.
• Technical skills: Ability to diagnose and solve problems quickly and accurately.

But not everything is technical, and personal skills, as in any large company, are also essential to apply for such a job:

• Precision and efficiency: Ability to work accurately and efficiently, even under pressure
• Communication: Good communication skills and languages, especially English
• Flexibility: Availability to work flexible hours and be away from home for extended periods.
• Driver's license: Having a B driver's license is essential, but often mechanics are responsible for driving the team's trucks or buses, so having C and/or D licenses is a plus
• Adaptability: Willingness to adapt to the team's and cyclists' needs.
  What a World Tour team offers

If you meet the profile and are interested in taking the leap and becoming a mechanic for a World Tour team, you can now take a look at the Visma-Lease a Bike offer and send your CV before August 18