Bobby & Jens: Bernie Eisel is the ultimate road captain turned team director
This article originally appeared on Velo News
Bernie Eisel got his start in pro cycling at the Mapei team, and stayed around the pro ranks for nearly two decades before getting involved in commentary and team directing. Having touched just about every side of road cycling, he brings a wealth on insight to the latest episode of Bobby & Jens.
After discussing how he picked up four languages, and got so proficient at English in particular, the Austrian takes us inside the finer points of a sprint train. He should know, having been on the same team as Mark Cavendish for a number of years, including the HTC / Columbia / High Road teams in its many forms. He had a special presence to mold the group and also mold the grupetto to get his sprinter to the end of each stage.
Eisel earned the title "road captain" during his time with Team Sky, which although he jokes was just because he wasn't good at climbing or sprinting or anything else, was an important job for the team, acting as a liaison between the team director and the riders on the road. Learn about how the role came about and what made him a natural at it.
Since retiring, Eisel has tried his hand as a race commentator. He talks about the shift to riding in races to talking about them. There have been ups and downs, including a clash with Dan Martin early on in his commentating career.
More recently, he has moved into being a team director. He talks about how drastically the sport has changed since he began as a rider, a change he attributes partially to Team Sky's influence. He also has an opinion on race radios, and tells us about the most important tool at his disposal as a team director.
Listen to the episode for the full discussion.
Also read: Bobby & Jens: Alison Jackson is a literal rock star
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