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
2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11 to Pinerolo, This was a transitional stage, leaving the Ligurian coast, traveling through Langhe to end at the ancient crossroads city of Pinerolo. The peloton stayed together through the first hour of racing. Mickaël Buffaz formed the day's breakaway at the mark. His maximum advantage over the main field was more than nine minutes, but he was easily caught. With left to race, and were drilling out a hard pace at the front of the main field, and absorbed Buffaz back into the peloton. The finish was contested in a classic bunched sprint, won by Alessandro Petacchi, though this was