Behind the scenes at the UAE Team Emirates makeshift service course

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the winter training camp of UAE Team Emirates, ostensibly for the launch of the new Colnago V4Rs and to write a first ride review of it, having bombed around the hills behind the Costa Blanca being constantly overtaken by WorldTour pros. The team also put on a media day, where journalists could ask riders about their ambitions for the upcoming season, how they were settling in at the new team.

I decided not to stick around during the rider interviews, and instead, as the sun dipped below the horizon, I wandered up the road a few hundred metres to the entrance of an underground car park that the team had taken over to create a makeshift service course. Here I was lucky enough to shoot Pogačar's bike for the upcoming season, but while I was there I also took some snaps of the service course itself and chatted to Pogačar's mechanic, Boštjan Kavčnik, about the new team bikes, what they're like to work on, and who are the picky riders in the bunch.

WJ: Hi Boštjan, if you could introduce yourself please that'd be great.

BK: Hi, I'm Boštjan Kavčnik, mechanic at UAE.

WJ: And are you Pogačar's personal mechanic, or do you work with the other riders as well?

BK: All of the mechanics work for him [and all the other riders]. I am coming from Slovenia, from Pogačar's first team, and I did all the bikes for his team when he first started. He asked me if I'd go with him to UAE.

WJ: An easy choice?

BK: Ha, yes. I then had a talk with my wife first to find a solution and now I am here for my second year. 

WJ: Last year obviously you had Campagnolo for the groupset and wheels, so has there been a lot of challenges swapping to new parts; has there been anything particularly difficult?

BK: Of course. We have all new handlebars, wheelsets, and all of the equipment is now Shimano. It's just the saddle and frameset is the same really, but the V4Rs. We will see how it is tomorrow: We have two rides with the riders and the new equipment, but for now, it's good. It's looking good.

WJ: Do you like it more?

BK: For now, when it's working, it's good for the mechanics.

WJ: Is anything easier about the bike, considering the new fork design?

BK: It is easier now to build the bikes. Shimano doesn't have cables at the shifters and for us, this is easier. The brakes are normal though compared to Campagnolo.

WJ: The new bike presentation made a big deal about the CeramicSpeed headset longevity. How often are you changing the headsets?

BK: We need one hour to change the headsets. We do have CeramicSpeed on call though. They say "If you have a problem just call us" but that's just for the bearings. We change after two months of racing. We have a lot of work with [setting the new bikes up], but now it's over.

WJ: You've been busy?

BK: We have thirteen riders, all riders have three bikes, plus two TT bikes and other bikes at home. A lot of work!

WJ: So who is the pickiest rider then?

BK: Off-record only!

WJ: I won't tell anyone... Well, we will. They're all perfect?

BK: With some riders, we have always problems with saddle angle and saddle height, but Tadej is not complicated. He is an easy man to work with.

WJ: What's your favourite thing about the new bike to work on then?

BK: The favourite is the new colour. Tadej tells us the bike is faster after the corner. After the corner is when he pushes the pedals and it's faster coming out. For me, it's the colour.

WJ: So you can get grease on it and nobody will see?

BK: Ha! No, I don't know. We change the power meter also. Last year we had a lot of problems with the computers. Now we have to see the new computers [Wahoo Elemnt] and how they work.