USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Why the different jerseys? Grupetto? Huh?
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- Created on Monday, 22 August 2011 18:08
- Written by Dena Rosenberry
Today's USA Pro Cycling Challenge race in Colorado Springs, the Prologue, is a time trial. The cyclists will be racing each other, sure, but they'll ride one by one against the clock. (Great photo, by the way, taken during today's prologue by Gazette photographer Mark Reis)
This is a route with a twist. Or two.
It goes downhill. It has a wicked turn at the bottom of a hill.
But you won't see the group dynamics of cycling that will be present in other stages of this weeks race.
To get ready, USA Pro Cycling Challenge folks are sharing info about the different jerseys you'll see cyclists wearing and this list of terms you might hear throughout race week.
Read it over and join the conversation! There's more to this than just riding a bike.
And for heaven's sake, take a few hours off and watch some cycling. It's August in Colorado and pro cyclists are here: Life doesn't get much better!
Here's what to expect in Colorado Springs on Monday afternoon.
Attack: A sudden attempt to get away from another rider.
Abandon: When a rider quits during a race.
Big ringing it: When the rider has his chain on the larger of the two front chain rings, allowing for maximum speeds. This gearing is most often used on flat or rolling terrain.
Blocking: When a rider tries to get in the way of other riders, usually done as part of a team strategy to slow down the main field when other team members are ahead in a breakaway.
Bonk: When a rider completely runs out of energy.
Breakaway: A rider or group of riders who separate themselves ahead of the main pack.
Bridge the gap: When a rider or group of riders attempts to reach a group farther ahead.
Chasers: Riders who are attempting to "bridge the gap" to catch the lead group.
Domestique: A rider who sacrifices any individual honors to the team leader who is in contention to win.
Drafting: Riding closely behind another rider, which creates a slipstream, or air pocket. The lead rider expends up to 30 percent more energy than the following rider does.
Dropped: This is what happens to riders who have not been able to maintain the pace set by the main group, often a result of exhaustion or mechanical failure.
Echelon: A line of riders taking orderly and staggered turns at the lead so that each rider will get maximum protection from the wind. Also called a "paceline."
Force the pace: When one rider goes harder than the pack to increase the tempo.
Grupetto: A group of riders who form at the back of the field on mountain stages and ride at a pace that allows them to finish just inside the time limit. Usually the grupetto is comprised of sprinters and other riders who are not climbing specialists or race leaders.
Hammering: Very steady, strenuous pedaling.
Hook: When one rider, either on purpose or by accident, uses his rear wheel to hit the front wheel of the rider behind him.KOM: King of the Mountain, awarded to a stage's best climber.
Lead out: An intentional and often sacrificial move where one rider begins a sprint to give a head start to another rider (usually a teammate) on his rear wheel, who then comes around at an even faster speed to take the lead.
Paceline: A group formation in which each rider takes a turn setting the pace at the front before pulling off, dropping to the rear position, and riding the others' draft until at the front once again.
Peloton: The main field, or pack of riders in the race. Peloton is French for a group moving forward. When the group is strung out, long and thin, the peloton is traveling at a fairly high speed.
Pull: To take a turn at the front and break the wind for the other riders in the pack.
Road rash: Large abrasions on a rider's body caused by a crash, particularly on asphalt.
Saddle: The bike seat.
Take a flyer: When one rider goes off the front of the pack, usually alone.
UCI: Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body of cycling.
Source: USA Pro Cycling Challenge
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