Andrew Gerrans - Behind the Scenes: Working in a Pro Cycling Team

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton!

Have you ever wondered how you get a job on a Pro Cycling Team as a staff member? Or who the people are who work behind the scenes? What qualifications do they have? What is a Soigneur compared to a Physiotherapist or to an Osteopath?

Well I sat down with Andrew Gerrans, or Andy as I know him, the brother to well-known retired pro cyclist Simon Gerrans.

Andy is a veteran in the cycling world, not as a cyclist, but as an Osteopath.

He’s worked in pro teams for more than 10 years, and like all the other staff, can be a jack of all trades at times, moulding into the routine and getting the job done, often outside of his trained skill set, on the rigorous day to day grind of World Tour racing.

But his path into the World Tour wasn’t as straight forward as you might think and I was keen to hear how he eventually came to work in cycling & ask him about keeping a job in the sport and the day to day life of a pro team staff member.

After a few brief periods trying a job in cycling while studying Osteo in 2005, Andy decided to take the more ‘traditional pathway’ for a university graduate and set up his own practice in his hometown of Mansfield in country Victoria, Australia.

In 2013, realising he was looking for more, he sold his practice and took off on a soul-searching backpacking trip around the world. While visiting his brother, Simon, in Europe in June, he was asked to put his Osteo skills to good use and help him prepare for the upcoming Tour de France. It turned out GreenEdge was also looking for a therapist to join them for the month of July. And then in August… And September. And soon Andy’s solo trip was cut short.

Andy is now working with Israel Premier Tech after a long stint at GreenEdge and has not only made a life for himself as a World Tour Osteopath living in Europe but, very much like his older brother, an impressive reputation within the world we call top level cycling.

I knew it would be great to have Andy on the podcast to give some perspective into what it’s like working for a World Tour team, & hear the ins and outs of finding (& keeping) a job in the sport. It was great hearing his insight into just how differing and dynamic the staff roles are.

I hope you enjoy the chat.

Stay tuned next week for Talking Luft with Simon Gerrans!

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

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Show Notes

Episode breakdown:

0:00min to 3:48mins – Intro

3:48 to 27:25min – Andy’s path into working in the World Tour

27:25 to 49:45min – Finding a job on a cycling team, the day to day & working with pro athletes

49:45min to end – Outro

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This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

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Theme Music

The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4’s coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show. Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete’s widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton.

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