Keeping the bikes ticking at the MTB World Cup – gallery

<source media="(max-width: 320px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=90&resize=160%2C208, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=320%2C416 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=480%2C624 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=640%2C832 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 375px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=90&resize=190%2C247, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=380%2C494 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=570%2C741 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=692%2C900 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 425px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=90&resize=215%2C279, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=430%2C559 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=645%2C838 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=692%2C900 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 768px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=90&resize=295%2C383, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=590%2C767 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=693%2C900 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 992px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=90&resize=136%2C176, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=272%2C353 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=408%2C530 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=544%2C707 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(min-width: 993px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=90&resize=155%2C201, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=310%2C403 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=465%2C604 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=45&resize=620%2C806 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <img class="wp-image-331277 size-portrait_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--aspect no-wrap js-gallery-grid-src-image" src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723" width="556" height="723" data-crop-width="" data-crop-height="" alt="This neat suitcase belonged to one of the Giant Factory Off-Road team mechanics - filled with USA-made Snap-on, so this wasn't one to lose!" title="1398842761495-bylhyxc7covl-90a791e" style="width: auto; height: 100%;"> This neat suitcase belonged to one of the Giant Factory Off-Road team mechanics – filled with USA-made Snap-on, so this wasn’t one to lose! David Rome / Future Publishing

BikeRadar was recently in Cairns, Australia, at the second round of the UCI mountain bike World Cup. While there, we spotted plenty of fancy new bikes, components and accessories, but easily missed are the people hiding in the pits, ensuring the bikes remain reliable for the riders to do their jobs.

It’s often not a glamorous job, but the mechanics are arguably the hardest working at these races and often a huge asset toward a winning performance. As we saw earlier in the year at the Tour Down Under , the international mechanics must pack the bare minimum to deal with the travel logistics of racing in Australia.

Mountain bike mechanics don’t share this same luxury and often must pack a huge array of tools to cope with the demanding conditions, unforeseen major repairs and the generally greater complexity of the bikes.

We take a look inside the tool boxes from around the pits including those from the factory support of Fox Racing, Shimano and SRAM .