Peloton

In a road bicycle race, the peloton is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding behind or close to other riders. The reduction in drag is dramatic; riding in the middle of a well-developed group, drag can be reduced by as much as 95%. Exploitation of this potential energy saving leads to 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.