Competitive cycling is a team sport. Few riders can win a race as long and physically demanding as the Colorado Stage on their own.
In a typical professional cycling race, teams have 8-12 riders on the start line. Each team has its own game plan for winning, and like pieces on a chess board, each rider has a different responsibility within that game plan.
Prior to a race, most teams designate one rider as their leader. The leader's teammates play the role of domestiques, who sacrifice their own chances of winning in support of him. A domestique is the “worker ant” of the team; protecting the leader from the wind, chasing down breakaway riders, fetching food or clothing for him, and even sacrificing their bikes’ parts to give to their leader if he has a mechanical problem.
Understanding this cycling strategy will make watching the Colorado Stage even more exciting.
STRATEGY:
One of the most crucial concepts in team racing is drafting. Riders can conserve energy by riding in the slipstream of another cyclist. As a result, teams try to surround their leader with teammates, keeping him out of the wind and fresh to attack at the right moment.
Different formations can increase the energy-saving benefits of drafting, and wind can necessitate a variety of drafting formations. In a headwind, this formation is a long straight line that is called a paceline. In a crosswind, riders will form staggered, diagonal lines that are known as echelons.
Teams also develop complex strategies to win specific stages, or the “races within races,” such as competing to earn points to qualify as the King of the Mountain or Sprint leader. Not only do teams designate a leader for the overall race, but many also select riders to vie for these best sprinter and best climber titles.
