At professional level, a directeur sportif follows the team in a car and communicates with riders, personnel and race officials by radio.
The directeur sportif warns of obstacles or challenging terrain, updates the team on the situation in the race, and provides mechanical help.
Gord Fraser described his role as directeur sportif as follows:[1] Probably the first thing is that I’m the person who has to come up with a tactical plan at the races that will maximize the potential of the team.
Patrick Lefevere with Johan Museeuw and Tom Boonen, Cyrille Guimard's relationship with Lucien Van Impe, Bernard Hinault, and later Laurent Fignon as well as a young Greg LeMond prior to his Tour victories; Jean de Gribaldy with Sean Kelly and Joaquim Agostinho; and Bruyneel with Lance Armstrong are examples.
Others include Guillaume “Lomme” Driessens who was a Directeur for Eddy Merckx and Roger Legeay who directed LeMond during his win in the 1990 Tour de France.