luc 'merrie' meersman, master mechanic

Perhaps known to some as the father of Discovery rider Gianni Meerman, Luc 'Merrie' Meersman has been an important part of Johan Bruyneel's teams the past several years. Luc who loves to joke around, sat down with us and gave some insight into his job and cycling family ...

Hi Merrie, where are you these days?

Most of the day’s I’m in the service course in Brakel now. It’s the end of the season and time to make a checkup of all the vehicles and equipment.

Now you have a very interesting job – managing all the vehicles. Tell us a little a bit what that means and some of the tasks?

Wel,I’m responsible for all the vehicles and all the equipment in it. This means everything from the race-scanner in the director cars to the washing machine in the truck , the generator in Duffy’s camper and the maintenances for the cars.

Where’d you learn so much about these vehicles?

Oh that’s a long story, but let’s say that I was interested in these things from when I was young.I also went to a technical school. And my family had a garage for rally-cars where I spent a lot of time.

And do you get to go to the races or only work in Brakel?

Yes I go to the races. Sometimes I go as bus driver and sometimes I go to help Tiebe and take some bottles for the riders on the small roads between some hills here in the Flanders.Then I take also a couple of wheels with me.You never now if a rider needs a wheel because the director’s car is not always near the riders on the small roads here.

Which races have you gone to this year?

I did almost all the Belgian races. And I did the 4 Days of Dunkirk. Also some races in the Netherlands as the bus driver.

Can you give us a little behind-the-scenes how the vehicles get branded with the Team Astana logo and colors? They all look so good!

Well, the design comes from Johan Bruyneel and the team sponsors off Kazakhstan. A company (Publitony) here near to Brakel put all of these decals on the cars. Our cars have a grey color when they arrive the first time from the garage. So, the whole car is now a decal of a very good quality.The busses and the trucks were painted for the most part and then they put some decals on. It’s a lot of work for these guys and a real work for specialist.

How many vehicles do we have in total ... Cars, buses, vans, etc?

5 Volvo V50’s 2.5 l. director cars with analoque and digital TV on board, 1 transmitter/receiver for talking to the riders during the race, 1 race scanner to listen for the race information and 1 transmitter/receiver for talking to our staff in other cars during the race.

7 Volvo V50’s 2.0 l. soigneur cars. Used to go to the feedzone for example.

2 big Iveco trucks with in a front a part for the soigneurs with a washing machine, dryer, refrigerator and freezer inside that part.The rear part is for the mechanics with all the bicycles, wheels and working equipment they need for the races.

1 Iveco long van for smaller races or 1 day races. Also with washing machine and dryer inside.

1 big bus to transport our riders from the hotel to the start of the race and back to the hotel. Inside a big shower, satellite tv, coffee machine and all the things a rider needs to go comfortably to the race.

1 big camper for the same assignments like the big bus also with tv and coffee machine

1 normal camper to go to small 1 day races.

And last year, you had to take the Discovery Channel decals off all the vehicles ... In November and December! How does that process work?

That was a big job and took lots of patient work. Thanks to all the colleagues that came to help me because we had 14 cars to strip all the decals off of. And after that there was a lot off glue remaining on these cars so I had my work cut out for me on those days.

Speaking of last year, that was your first year working for Johan Bruyneel, right? How did you get the job?

I knew Johan, Duffy, Dirk Demol and some of the other guys for a long time. I was working 2 years for the Lotto team and I asked Johan if there was a place for me in the team. We made an agreement in 2 minutes and all was ok.

And it was a special year as well with your son Gianni on the same team (winning a stage in both the Tour de Georgia and Tour of Austria). Describe the feeling of a proud staff member AND parent?

His first victory was in Georgia and my wife and I were following the race live on the internet here at home in Belgium. It was around midnight here when we saw him winning there in the US. It was fantastic!!And then in Austria it was director Laurenzo Lapage who phoned me to tell that Gianni was in the lead over there with a small group and maybe he had a change to win. He informed me at the finish when Gianni won his second race.

And how is Gianni doing these days? He’s had a solid year with Francaise des Jeux and comped in his first Grand Tour (Vuelta).

For the moment Gianni is recovering from a small knee operation. For that reason he was stopped the Vuelta. But he is recovering very well and he’s starting to do some workouts and exercising. In December he will start to ride the bike for the next season.

And we know you have a younger son who is also trying to make it in professional cycling. Tell us about him and how he is doing?

His name is Luigi and is 20 years old. He is also a talented rider but has a weak back. This year he won a big race in Belgium with 240 riders on the start. I hope that next year he can ride without pain in the back and maybe we will have a second pro in the family. We will see.

A lot of people don’t know that you always keep things fun at the service course, especially on those cold winter days. Talk about this.

I try to do my job good and when I’m working with some colleagues in Brakel we try to have some fun while we do the work. You now how it goes when guys get together……..

Favorite memory of the 2008 season?

The whole great season of the team with all the victories!

Any plans for the short off-season?

For me is there no off-season but during the end of year I’ll enjoy a few days with the family….

Now, we try to ask every staff member this ... Anything you’d like to say to the Team Astana fans throughout the world?

Thanks for supporting our team this year and we’re hoping to see you back next year. We always do our best….. see you all…..