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 at the rear to minimize fatigue due to air resistance until the last hundred meters or so, when the sprinter will choose the moment to dash out from behind his leadout rider to charge to the finish at the highest possible speed. In mountainous races, the winner routinely arrives at the finish alone, because only the winner was willing and able to endure that degree of effort and suffering. 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