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Overheard in the Peloton: ATTACK: An aggressive, high speed acceleration away from other riders. BLOCKING: Legally impeding the progress of riders in the pack to allow teammates in the break a better chance of success. BRIDGE: To catch a rider or group which has opened a lead.
BREAKAWAY: Suddenly riding away from a pack of racers, quickly enough that opponents cannot keep close enough to draft.
BUNNY HOP: To hop a bicycle over an obstruction, with the front wheel leaving the ground first. CAT, CATEGORY: The competition level in USCF-sponsored races. Cat 5 = beginner, Cat 4 = novice, Cat 3 = sport, Cat 2 = expert, Cat 1 = elite. CHASERS: Those who are trying to catch a group or a lead rider. DRAFT: Riding close behind another rider to take advantage of the aerodynamics.CIRCUIT: A road course which is ridden two or more times to compose a race.
CRITERIUM, CRIT: A bicycle race, generally around a short loop on city streets. CYCLOCROSS RACING: A type of off-road racing over a rugged, muddy course. DROPPED, GETTING: When a rider can no longer stay with a group. ECHELON: A form of pace line in which the riders angle off behind the leader to get maximum draft in a crosswind. ENDO: A fall on a bicycle in which the rear end lifts off the ground and the rider goes over the handlebars. FIELD: see peloton. GRADE: The steepness of a hill, measured in per cent. Equal to feet of vertical rise per hundred feet of horizontal distance. HAMMER: To ride fast.HOOKING: When a rider swerves, hitting the front wheel of a following rider with his or her rear wheel. This often causes the following rider to crash. JUMP: A sudden acceleration. LEADOUT: A leadout rider starts his or her sprint too early. His or her teammate drafts off of him, coming around him as he starts to fade.MADISON RACE: A team track race with only one rider per team at a time, switching off tagteam style. MASSED-START: A race in which competitors start at the same time (as opposed to a time trial.) MINUTEMAN: The rider who leaves one minute ahead of you in a time trial.PACELINE: A group of bicyclists riding close together in single file to reduce wind resistance. PACING, PULLING: Leading a paceline or peloton. PELOTON: A group of racers riding in a close-spaced pack. PRIME: (pronounced "preem") A special award given to the leader on selected laps during a criterium or the first rider to reach a specified point in a road race.PULLING: see pacing. PULL OFF: Finishing your turn at the front of a paceline. PULL THROUGH: Moving to the front of a paceline to take your turn. PURSUIT: A type of track racing in which two competitors start at opposite sides of the track.SAG WAGON: A motor vehicle used to pick up tired riders in an organized bicycle ride. SOFT PEDAL: To rotate the pedals without applying force. SPIN: To pedal with a high cadence.SPRINT, MASS (or field sprint): Sprinting in a large group, often at the end of a race. STAGE RACE: A race in which a different course is traversed each day. The winner is the racer with the lowest total time.TIME TRIAL: A bicycle race in which cyclists race against the clock rather than directly against each other. Racers start set times apart and are prohibited from drafting each other. TOW: Allowing other riders to draft behind you. TRACK RACING: Racing over a short banked oval course, as in a velodrome. TRACKSTAND: The act of balancing a bicycle without apparent motion, by means of small forward-and-backward movements.VELODROME: A stadium for bicycle racing, usually in the shape of an oval, with heavily-banked turns. |
