One of the Rapha boys swung by the van a few weeks back and over a coffee explained that they have an H van which they not only sell/display their line of cycling clothing and accessories from but also use as an official team 'broom waggon'. This is the affectionate name for the vehicle that follows a cycle road race picking up stragglers (or sweeping them up) who are unable to make it to the finish within the time permitted. In the Tour De France the vehicle used was traditionally a Citroen H Van. The expression broom waggon is a translation of the French, voiture balai, and it was seen first at the Tour de France 1910. The broom waggon of the Tour de France did indeed once carry a broom fixed above the driver's cab - except in the years that it was sponsored by a vacuum-cleaner company.
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