Team Command Vehicle

Check out how the car works and what the crew has to say about it.

First and foremost, all the modifications and digital additions have increased safety for both the crew and the cyclists. They have also made life easier for the team manager at the wheel, his assistant in the front passenger seat, and the mechanic in the back. The ŠKODA SUPERB SPORTLINE team car for the 2018 Tour de France has been customised by the Dutch ŠKODA importer following a discussion with LottoNL-Jumbo team members.

One of the features enhancing in-car safety is a spare parts holder, which is mounted on the rear seat with the ISOFIX anchoring system. As a result, spares and other bicycle components will not fly around the car no matter how hard the driver brakes.

Nor are there loose papers floating everywhere – paper is simply not needed thanks to the built-in technical equipment, software, multiple displays, and an app which displays all necessary information about riders and race developments on the infotainment system’s main screen. The crew has all the information it needs online.

The rear-view mirror, split into two parts, is also a big help. One half is a classic mirror; the other acts as a display for the backward-facing camera mounted on the tailgate, designed to improve the driver’s view of cyclists behind the car.

The displays tell the manager and the mechanic if any rider is currently trying to get in touch over the radio. “Sometimes it’s not clear which rider is reporting, say, that he has a puncture, because it can be difficult to hear them,” explains team manager Jan Boven. He also heaps praise on the fact that, if he wants to communicate with the riders, all he has to do is press a button on the steering wheel.

You can’t lead if you don’t have a connection. To make the ŠKODA SUPERB a true team manager’s car, it has technology to receive a 4G signal and a Wi-Fi router incorporated where the spare wheel would normally be under the floor of the luggage compartment.