The first part of our bike racing anatomy series took us from the stress of the roll out through to the initial breakaway getting away and the peloton settling in for possibly a long day of cat and mouse. Today we look at how the pack decides to let the break go or not, or what happens if a catch is made…Watching and racing a bike race is not always a simple matter or power/watt ratio or simply who is the big strong bull who can ride everyone off of their wheels. Rather, a peloton is a living, breathing organism roaring down the road with its own dynamics, politics, and physics, all mixed up with a bit of chaos theory.Last part of this series on the anatomy of a bike race, we explored the phases of staging and the “neutral” roll out, where it may all be theoretically neutral but the jockeying for position has already begun in earnest.In elite races, once the flag drops and well before the TV cameras go live, many races start with a frantic attempt by riders to establish or get into a breakaway. This often results in some of the highest speeds of the entire race, which is why you sometimes see professionals warming up even before a 250 km stage.Once a break goes up the road, the peloton has to decide whether to let it go or not. Our story last time thus ended at the point of the pack starting to ride...
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