Greig Leach

Not only are there teams of riders backed by mechanics, chefs and soigneurs, but there is a full compliment of personnel that makes up the team that brings the race safely along the thousands of kilometers of byroads and highways that make up the Tour de France. An important cog in the mechanism, are the thousands of volunteers, many home stand along the course warning the riders of dangers just around the corner. The roads of Europe have incorporated what Phil Liggett calls, "traffic furniture" to slow down cars, but the fast moving peloton is put at risk by these adornments. Marcel Sieberg (Lotto-Belisol) leads Ji Cheng (Giant Shimano), the first Chinese racer to get a ride at the Tour de France, into a round-a-bout. While it looks like he is on his cell phone, he is actually speaking into his team race radio, letting the rest of the team know about the danger ahead.