Massive image gallery from 'cross squad's home base
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The Rapha-Focus team's Mercedes Sprinter cargo van(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The van does double duty as a Focus demo truck in the summer months(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Dallas says he 'raided' Pedro's when the team were back east to race Gloucester(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Sixty-four wheels can be hard to keep track of; Dallas uses this white board to know where they are, with what tires, and how long since they've been glued/serviced(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Each wheel is numbered, as is each hook — everything has its place and it's apparent what's missing(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
When we visited, Dallas was already changing many of the team's file-tread tires out for mud tires(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The rack above the workbench is for wheels being worked on(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The empty slots represent the stock already in Europe with Powers and Hopper, the team's mechanic(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Numbered hooks...(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
... Correspond to the numbers on the wheels; all of the wheels are Easton's EC90SL model(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Workstation two(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Plenty of pink hoods to keep the cockpits looking fresh(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
In the style of a fighter pilot, Rapha-Focus keep score with these crown decals; each represents a victory(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Like the wheels, each bike slot gets a name and a number(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
CrankBrothers made the team six pairs of custom pink and black Candy 11 pedals(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
With 13 team bikes, spread across the three riders, some bikes get standard Candy 11s(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
A box of used Dugasts; even Dallas 'cries a little bit' when the team flat one of these handmade tires. The team buy all of their tires from 'Uncle Stu' [Stu Thorne, who owns Dugast USA and runs Powers' former team Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com], according to Dallas(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
All the hardware Chris Jones and Zach McDonald used at the Tabor World Cup fitted into these three bags.(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The bags are custom made to hold two bikes; their custom features can be credited to what Powers has learned as an 'airport ninja'(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Extra custom Rapha-Focus painted helmets(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The team exclusively ride Dugast tires this year - a requirement from Powers when he signed on(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Plenty of Pedro's bike care products, extra team helmets, tires and whatever else a rider might need(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
J-Pow left his mark(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Rapha-Focus's Mercedes Sprinter has been across the country and back already this season(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Rapha-Focus's Mazda 5 team car(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Inside the team's Sprinter(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Rapha-Focus's team field manager, Brian Dallas(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Wheel racks and tool boxes inside the Sprinter(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The Sprinter can hold eight race bikes and 32 wheels - half of the team's total wheel stock(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Those big white pillars hold 25 gallons of water each for the team's pressure washer(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The water tanks are made by High Country Plastics(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
The bike wall also holds the team's banners and flags(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Inside the top drawer of the team's large tool box; those three multi-tools are the property of Jeremy Powers — he has a reputation for losing the mechanics' Allen wrenches, so they've got three that are all his own(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
CrankBrothers have their own drawer, as the entire team ride their Candy 3 and 11 pedals(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Small parts in the drawer below CrankBrothers include bits from Avid, Easton/SwissStop and Gore Ride-On(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
This season's YouTube sensation 'Joey's OK!'(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Some podium hardware hangs from the rear view mirror. Powers keeps what's reaped from his wins, the van gets second place(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Everything to equip the team is neatly packed in(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Pika Packworks in Salt Lake City, Utah make the bags(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)
Cyclo-cross may be booming in the US but even the biggest domestic teams are still a far cry from the professional outfits found in Belgium. A case in point are Rapha-Focus who, while far from unassuming, run their service course out of their field manager Brian Dallas's two-car garage.
Dallas graciously gave us a tour of the garage and the team's Mercedes Sprinter van, which between them hold all of the squad's race equipment, from their 10 Focus Mares Race Series bikes to their 64 Easton EC90SL Dugast-wrapped tubular wheels, along with plenty of spare parts, tools and equipment to keep everything running smooth and fast.
The garage is heated, for working in the winter, and built out with two workstations and dedicated storage for the team's wheels and bikes. On race weekends, the squad load their seven pop-up tents and eight race bikes into the van. This is equipped with a full workstation, a wheel wall to hold 32 wheels, a pressure washer and 50 gallons of water, so as to be self sufficient at the race venue.
Rapha-Focus's team field manager, Brian Dallas
Rapha-Focus riders raced the firsttwo rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in the Czech Republic, the first international test for the young US-based outfit. Each rider took two bikes, with wheels. Jeremy Powers and team mechanic Tom Hopper took six sets of wheels; three with Dugast Typhoon tires and three with Rhino mud tires.
Each wheel is numbered, as is each hook—everything has its place and it's apparent what's missing
"There's a team that's sponsored by Focus in Germany called MIG, or Made in Germany, and they're helping us out with infrastructure: trainers, tents and moving stuff around while we're over there for the first two races," said Dallas. "The idea is to get some World Cups behind us, see if we can grab some [UCI] points, and season out some of the riders."
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Though the first overseas test for the young team, it'll surely be considered a success after Powers took 10th at the opening World Cup round in Plzen. "Our program is really young, we're only two years into it," said Dallas. "This is a big trip, it's a big deal."
For lots more photos of the Rapha-Focus service course, check out our massive image gallery.
