Peloton Peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting or slipstreaming) near (particularly behind) other riders. The reduction in drag is dramatic; in the middle of a well-developed group drag can be reduced to as little as 5%-10%. Exploitation of this potential energy saving leads to very complex cooperative and competitive interactions between riders and teams in race tactics. The term is also used to refer to the community of professional cyclists in general, as in 'the professional
Peloton front of the peloton, especially when approaching sharp turns that require braking. Resuming pace after a sharp turn (especially into wind) routinely causes division in a peloton. Once a division occurs, if the will and collective strength of those wisely placed at the front is greater than those behind, the gap between the groups will remain (or increase) to the end of the race, because the extra air resistance for a single rider attempting to move forward to reach the front group imposes an extravagant fatigue penalty, as compared to those who remained aerodynamically protected in the peloton. This is