ALL ABOARD THE PARTY BUS

Control of the pro team bus stereo is a privilege and a responsibility. We spoke to those with their hands on the volume controls to see how they handle it

- Vern Pitt, Chris Marshall-Bell

Somewhere in a car park in rural France aboard the Israel-Premier Tech team bus Phil Collins croons: "The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows, it's no stranger to you and me." Baboom, baboom, baboom, baboom, BOOM, BOOM, the iconic drum fill of 'In The Air Tonight' kicks in, and Chris Froome, Jakob Fuglsang, and Simon Clarke all join in with pounding the skins of their air drums. "I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord," they belt out with the Genesis frontman.

Israel rider Michael Woods is the man responsible for this. He is one of a select few in the Tour peloton, the rider entrusted with sorting the music on the bus. In some ways the bus DJ, the team party starter, is as important as a reliable cobbles domestique, a seasoned sports director, or a great team chef. It falls to them to get everyone hyped for the stage and mentally in the zone. As a consequence this is not a responsibility handed out lightly; these special individuals must be chosen. "I've had this role before in the past but it's an acquired spot," explains Woods. "You need to have a bit of respect from the guys to get it and I feel I've earned that now."

Hyped

It sounds simple but it can go wrong. Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl rider Mikkel Honore takes a long pause when we ask him to assess the efforts of his team's resident DJ's - Florian Senechal and Yves Lampaert selections. "I don't know. I like some different kind of music, but to get in the mood for the race it's good with some harder music, but usually I like easier, more tranquil music. Sometimes because of their music you come out of the bus and you're already so hyped, and then you go to the start and your energy level starts to go down. You come to the start and you feel like you're ready to do the final already."