Originally Posted by Hitchy
Dunno...I'm sure Ed will chime in, him being closer to this level than I'll ever be....I reckon they get heaps of kit every year...it probably changes just about every year as well, different sponsors etc.....as far as the bike bits goes...its usually (from what I've seen) the mechanics that are selling all the stuff....sometimes they just have all this stuff laid out on a blanket with price tags on outside the van.....sometimes you just ask if they wanna sell a particular item.....Alot of the pro's that end up doing the sun tour aren't the 'top' echelon...so the money can be important....theres a lot of ammo's in there too who have scored a 'one off' ride in a 'team' that only exists for the sun tour....all that gear will get flogged for sure,
cheers,
hitchy
Bikes are to be sold and the funds given back to the team, or returned to the team's service de course in Europe where they are flogged off to the public at the end of the year.
As clothing, shoes, glasses etc etc are personal items, riders can do with them as they wish. (btw...ther'es no way I'm buying someone else's used shorts....)
Marcel Wust used to pack an EXTRA duffle bag just for Australia, absolutely busting at the seams with kit. I was buying some RMO gear from him and the bloke next to me was complaining that $70 was too much for Santini bib-shorts (**********?)...Marcel's response, "Hey man...I gotta pay for the extra baggage the airline charges me!"