Copy of `Amgen - Bike racing terms`

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Amgen - Bike racing terms Category: Sport and Leisure > Sports Date & country: 01/02/2014, USA Words: 15

Wheel Sucker
A rider who refuses to cooperate with the pace-making and constantly rides in the slipstream of the others, saving energy and irritating his rivals. This is a negative term.

Sprinters
Each team typically has one powerful rider who has the ability to produce a quick burst of speed at the end of a race; this is a sprinter. On flat courses, teams protect their sprinter from the wind so they can conserve as much energy as possible until the final few hundred meters of the race. A win for a sprinter is always a win for the entire team because a sprinter would not be able to showcase his finishing power without the support of his teammates throughout the race.

Power Meter
A device used by professional riders to measure their physical effort during a race. Power is measured in units of watts and riders carefully monitor their power on climbs and during breakaways to ensure they are riding within their own capabilities. The most powerful metric in elite racing is the power to weight ratio. Most of the riders you will see winning races ending in a mountaintop finish will have the highest power to weight ratio.

Musette
A cotton bag, handed out in the feed zones by soigneurs, containing food and drink.

King of the Mountain
During a stage race, points are awarded to the first few riders to cross the summit of categorized climbs. Difficult climbs are worth more points and the rider who has accumulated the most points over the course of a race is crowned at the King of the Mountain.

Feed zone
A designated stretch of road where soigneurs distribute musettes filled with food and drink to riders while as they pass by at full speed. A rider only grabs a musette from his own team's soigneur who is typically dressed in a matching team uniform. The end of the feed zone is often a good place for fans to get souvenirs as riders discard musettes and bottles after taking the supplies they need.

General Classification Riders
Well-rounded riders who compete for the best overall time in a stage race. These riders are typically strong climbers and time trialists who are protected by their teammates.

Directeur Sportif
Also known as the team director and almost always an ex-pro rider, the director sportif's job is to set out and dictate team tactics to riders from the team car, which is fitted with a television so he can follow the action. He must be a seasoned multi-tasker because he needs to do all this while driving, map reading, and handing out supplies.

Drafting/Slipsteam
The biggest enemy to a cyclist is aerodynamic drag. Riders can save a significant amount of energy by riding in a group behind other riders or by having their teammates break the wind for them. In a breakaway, riders rotate from the front of the group to the back in order to take a short rest. Larger groups are more successful because each rider spends less time riding in the wind.

Caravan/Follow Car
The riders are followed by a large group of vehicles that support the race. This includes

Climbers
The smallest and lightest guys in the peloton are the climbers who excel in the mountains. The best climbers such as Levi Leipheimer and Andy Schleck take advantage of their impressive power to weight ratio and tend to save their energy for the key climbs.

Commissaires
The officials appointed to ensure teams and riders abide by the rules of the race and sport. Rule breakers are issued fines and time penalties.

Broom wagon
The vehicle at the back of the race that signals the end of the race caravan and ensures the course is clear for the reopening of closed roads.

Bunch/Peloton
The main group of riders who ride together at a comfortable pace and share the pace-making. Flat stages tend to finish in a bunch or field sprint contested by most of the riders.

Breakaway/escape
A rider or group of riders who ride off the front of the peloton and form a lead pack. Breakaway riders will obviously want to maintain their lead, but whether they do so depends on how well they cooperate and how well the peloton cooperates in any attempt to chase them down and close the time gap.