ProTeam Staff Stories - bus driver Mario Meeuwssen: “For me the most important thing is my bus, it needs to be clean and perfect."
“I have been a bus driver with the team since 2006, in between I was two years with another team. Former sports Director Herman Frison called me if I would be up to work for the team. At that point I was driving tourists groups around Europe. My first race was Etoile de Bessèges, and I remember Tom Steels came in the bus after the last stage and he was very angry as he didn’t win the stage.”
“For me the most important thing is my bus, it needs to be clean and perfect. It’s my life. I’m away more than 190 days per year, but I like it as you know upfront where you’ll be the whole year. You know the planning. It’s also nice as you’re away with your second family. Everyone can have a bad day, especially in a grand tour but that’s normal. Of course it are long days. Here in the Tour my day starts early in the morning making sure everything is on the bus and everything is clean. Then I drive the riders to the start and head to the finish. It’s a habit being focused on the road, I have been driving a bus since 1997. The only stress I have is when there’s something not working in the bus or something happened.”
“My first Tour de France the bus had a breakdown three times, I can tell you when that happens it’s not nice. Especially not with a lot of cameras filming the moment the bus is being taken away. I always try to solve it myself, but sometimes it’s not possible. After the finish I make sure the riders arrive safely at the hotel. But then the day isn’t finished yet, I still clean my bus and fill the water tank. I make sure the towels are clean again and together with the sports directors I look to the planning for the next day.”
“Tomorrow I’ll head home from Nice. On Wednesday I already have an appointment at the repair shop to check the bus and repair a window that is broken. After that my next race is the Tour de France Femmes. It’s my first time with the Ladies, I’m looking forward to it. The Worlds and European Championships I’m also always looking forward to, as it’s something different. A super nice atmosphere. I still love the job, but for the future I hope to do a bit less days and take it a bit more easy.”
Pictures: Brecht Steenhouwer and Inigo Lemon