• Explainer

The Explainer – Help wanted

by Charles Pelkey

• April 16, 2009
• Comments Off

Long hours, many duties and low pay … for highly qualified applicants only

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By Charles Pelkey

Dear Explainer,
What does one do in order to secure a job as a cycling team soigneur? What are the qualifications? What are the limitations? What are the pros and cons?
Thanks,
David Barr

Hello David,
Well, I have to admit, that’s a topic with which I am not too familiar. I do know a few folks who have done the job, but it’s not something I’ve explored in great detail. I do know that the job is one of the busiest on a cycling team, to be sure, but I decided to ask a couple of folks who have a little more experience in dealing with the duties of a soigneur than I do.

Shelley Verses holds the distinction of being the first female soigneur to work in the ranks of top professional teams when she held the job for the old 7-Eleven team back in the mid-1980s. It’s remarkable, with 20+ years having elapsed since she broke that barrier, to see how much opposition she had from the ranks of a sport rooted in tradition. But that’s another story.

The job entails a great deal of responsibility, says Verses. Of course, the soigneur is perhaps best known as the team’s masseur, the staff member responsible for helping riders recover from a long, long day in the saddle.

“But they care for the rider in so many more ways than massage,” said Verses in a recent interview. “It encompasses so many more things … it is a term that is unique for the sport of cycling and the scope is very, very broad. You give them their start food, you feed them during the race, you do urine tests to check for glucose and protein, you assist the team doctors with stitching, you do wound care, you draw Epsom salt soaks ….”

Verses’ list includes an inordinate number of basic household duties, combined with those of masseuse, emergency room nurse, cook, driver and general go-fer.

Of course, the most notorious soigneur in the sport’s history, Festina soigneur Willy Voet, showed that those duties lapsed into the unethical at times, as well. As a result of Voet’s role in the Festina scandal of ‘98, team staff, including soigneurs, are subject to the oversight, rules and possible penalties under the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code.

I checked with Jonathan Vaughters, the general manager of the Garmin-Slipstream team, to see what it is he looks for when hiring someone for that position. The list of necessary job skills is quite long. Garmin, he said, considers only applicants who are accredited massage therapists. But that’s only the first of many requirements.

Vaughters went on to say that he also looks for applicants who have the ability and desire to work very long hours, doing the very basics “like laundry, filling bottles, cleaning cars, and preparing food.”

The team also requires that applicants have strong language abilities, noting that French and Spanish are “almost a must.”

On top of that, the applicant should probably also have a truck driver’s license (the “Class C” permit here in the U.S.) and have excellent navigational skills. Of course, given his team’s title sponsor, Vaughters is quick to note that requirement is now made “a bit easier with Garmin!!” (Nice plug there, Mr. Vaughters.)

Vaughters adds that in addition to being able to drive a truck and know where the heck you’re going, you would have to be able to do that for long hours on a daily basis. Then, to top it all off, you have to be willing and able to be on the road and away from home for three to four months at a time.

“Massage,” concludes Vaughters, “is the easy part.”

Being an old guy with a family, I think I’ll take a pass on that one, but if that sounds like a job for you, David, we wish you the best of luck. Maybe we’ll see you out on the road some time. Of course, from the sounds of it, you may be too busy to talk.

The plate

Dear Explainer,
Having had a similar cycling accident to what Lance Armstrong recently experienced, I need to ask a question many riders in the same situation may be asking: should the plate eventually be removed or should it stay in?

I was older when this happened, around 60, and had other injuries (broken ribs and a punctured lung), plus part of my hip bone was used to “reinforce” the collarbone repair. My orthopedic surgeon decided at this point to leave it in.

However, I am wondering whether this is a good decision. I was warned before the operation, that this type of surgery, while common, does involve risk as arteries, etc. pass close to the affected area. Would this mean then that if a similar fall occurred, there would be a possibility of a more serious injury due to having a large number of screws which could break loose during the fall, and possibly puncturing these arteries or veins?
Bill Reichert

Good day Bill,
This is another one of those questions that touches on area outside of my limited scope of expertise. I am certainly not a doctor, although I have broken my collarbone (haven’t we all?). My doc recommended against surgery, and I often wonder about that decision, particularly on those days when I heft a heavy backpack on my shoulders and the darn strap pulls directly down on that ugly hump I now have.

Anyway, given that I know squat about orthopedics, other than my exposure to the specialty as an often-whimpering patient, I thought I would toss this one to Dr. Dawn Richardson, who contributes to VeloNews and works with cyclists as a team doctor on top of her “day job” in an emergency room.

Keep in mind that Doc Richardson’s comments are general in nature and are not to be viewed as specific medical advice regarding your particular situation. To make a final decision regarding your plate and its possible removal, you need to consult with your own physician and pose many of the same questions you have asked here.

Okay, now that we have the legal stuff out of the way, let’s see what the good doctor has to say.

Richardson notes that a “collarbone is actually reinforced with the plate in place and should be less likely to fracture should you fall on it again.”

Richardson also points out that if a patient opts to have the plate removed, the areas where the screws were inserted will eventually fill in and won’t be weakened. (Although we would probably suggest that you avoid, massive field sprints, BMX and downhill events for at least a few weeks after that follow-up procedure.)

As for your concerns regarding a crash with those screws in place, Richardson notes that generally, “the screws don’t just break loose and chase after nearby arteries. The risk to nearby vascular structures was during the surgery itself and you shouldn’t have an increased risk of vascular injury after a subsequent fall with the hardware in place.”

I do recall seeing the screws used in such procedures and the wide threads – more reminiscent of wood screws than anything else I’ve seen – would seem to preclude them from working their way out.

“The only reason I can think of to remove your hardware is if you’re having a problem with it, such as chronic pain,” Richardson noted.

“I know a few pro cyclists who have broken both unplated collarbones twice,” she added. “I would think they’re less likely to fracture again after one fracture, but it really depends on the force of impact, and you don’t have a lot of control over that if it happens.”

Well, I hope that helps, Bill. Having gone through the experience of breaking one, I have to agree with Doctor Richardson when she says that she hopes your next collarbone fracture is at least another 60 years away.

Email Charles Pelkey

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“The Explainer” is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a question related to the sport of cycling that our editors might be able to answer, feel free to send your query to WebLetters@CompetitorGroup.com and we’ll take a stab at answering. Not all letters will be published and some questions may be combined with those of other readers. Please include your full name and hometown.

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