CyclistThe people behind a WorldTour team #5: The directeur sportifI remember early on, Allan Peiper said to me, You can do your work perfectly and get the worst outcome and be considered the most incompetent sports director around. Or you can do it all wrong and win a race. He was right.Despite the data-driven decisions that dominate modern road cycling, EF Education-EasyPosts head DS, Charly Wegelius, has been around long enough to know that there are few things that you can fully control in the world of WorldTour racing. Still, if you ask me the most satisfying aspect of my job, I wouldnt say victory. Its the situations where a rider might not have the vision to follow a certain tactic, but you persuade them, and it pays off. Related Posts The people behind a WorldTour team #4: The mechanic The people behind a WorldTour team #3: The soigneur The people behind a WorldTour team #2: The bus driver The people behind a WorldTour team #1: The team chef Born in Finland, educated in YorkWegelius was born in Espoo, Finland, to his Finnish father Harald Wegelius, a former banker who was also his countrys most successful show jumper and his English mother, Elizabeth Jane Murray.She met my father in Ireland in the 1960s and lived in Finland for 15 years, albeit they divorced when I was young. I ended up going to school in York, but basically flitted between the two countries, Wegelius says.Thats why, when he had the chance to compete at the 1999 European Road Championships, aged 20, he represented Great Britain. He won a silver medal in the under-23 time-trial at that event, and also raced professionally between 2000 and 2011. Now he, his wife and three children are based in Italy, but he spends long periods in Finland and still calls it home.Were reserved people and you have to work hard to break through socially. But if you get a Finn as a friend its a real friend for life. Its a highly organised and highly functioning society.Just the kind of attributes that any team looks for in a directeur sportif. Wegelius has been a DS at EF Education since 2012, with the last six years as head DS. It also helps that the Finns are renowned as rally drivers Finland is second only to France in terms of World Rally Championship wins. Wegelius reckons he has racked up tens if not hundreds of thousands of kilometres driving the EF team car.Were not obliged to take an advanced driving test, but at EF weve had extra driving practice from a Danish guy who races in the Porsche category. We drove the team cars around a track in Barcelona on a slippery, wet circuit. It was good but still couldnt mimic the chaos of the Tour. The number of spectators lining the roads can be hairy, especially on the mountains.Not that driving is the main part of the job: My biggest task now is being responsible for the riders racing calendar, he says. If you want to maximise results, ensuring the riders are ready and at a race that suits them with the people to support them, that can be a puzzle.Its a puzzle that Wegelius is becoming a master of solving. In 2023, the American outfit racked up its greatest number of victories over the season since he started as DS in 2012. Even more impressive from Wegeliuss viewpoint, the 26 wins were spread between 13 riders, with Irelands Ben Healy surprising many, including Wegelius himself, with the most successes (five).Thats why, when it comes to targets for 2024, its anything and everything, he says. Yes you make plans, but you know one rider might underperform and another might overperform. If youd asked me last year what our goal was for a race like Amstel Gold, I wouldnt have said for Healy to finish second.At the racesEF Pro CyclingWegelius estimates he covers around 120 race days a year: At a Grand Tour, well have three sports directors two in the first car and one in the second with one driving and one calling the race on the radio. The day starts at 6am when Ill go for a walk or run, have breakfast and then check in with the staff, like the doctor, to see if any issues have cropped up overnight. After breakfast Ill go for another walk with the sports directors and churn over the plan that day. People talk better and open up more when youre moving around rather than sitting.The heavy lifting will have been done well before the race. The DS who calls the race will have his presentations ready for the bus briefings. There will be a minimal amount to do in the morning, like how the weather might affect things and ascertaining the fatigue levels of the riders. Who are we going to use today? Who will we rest? If we go in a breakaway, wholl pull and how hard?If theres anything contentious, on the way to the start well have a chat with the riders. How do you feel? Can you manage it? We dont want to surprise them at the briefing and theyre sat there thinking, Shit, I wasnt expecting that. Everybody should leave that bus knowing what their task is. Ultimately, we look to create an open atmosphere. That said, I have 51% ownership in the decision making.And whats the best way to deal with the riders?Im not one for screaming down the radio or visiting the riders when having a massage for priest confession. But after the stage I like to debrief as quickly as possible. If there needs to be conflict, we want them to have it when the riders are hot. Debrief too late and they calm down and are afraid to say what they think for fear of upsetting someone.With 30 riders from 16 different nationalities, inevitably there are cultural differences German and Nordic riders can be incredibly blunt, although thats no bad thing but Wegelius prides himself on being 100% transparent with the riders.There is a hierarchy, so I suppose its a meritocracy. But its all about doing the best for the team. Basically, you communicate with the riders, you have a plan, you hit the start and thats when everything starts to go wrong! This article originally appeared in issue 152 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe Related Posts The people behind a WorldTour team #4: The mechanic The people behind a WorldTour team #3: The soigneur The people behind a WorldTour team #2: The bus driver The people behind a WorldTour team #1: The team chef The post The people behind a WorldTour team #5: The directeur sportif appeared first on Cyclist.