TDF - break aways - what are they good for?

[crisscross]

Racing newbie, but like to watch.

Why do riders go on break aways? Do they intend to win - which rarely ever happens as far as I can see.

Or is it to give their sponsors some airtime and the commentators something to feign enthusiasm about?

 

[Noodley]

Mostly sponsor airtime.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Both.

On the flatter stages race long breakaways mostly get caught, but they do succeed from time to time and it gives the riders and sponsors lots of airtime which is important in a commercially backed sport. In the key stages such as the mountains it is the breakaways that decide the race because that is where the main contenders will attack.

 

[yello]

airtime and romance, panache even.

There is something heroic in the futile gesture. Not least in part because it's not always futile. I find the 'nearly' breaks almost as stirring as the ones that manage to go the distance.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

It's mainly for the sponsors, but don't forget the award for most aggressive rider of the day and the primes. There is money available in the intermediate sprints and some climbs. Any cash in the pocket is welcome.

 

[RedRider]

A chance to wave to your mum

airtime and romance, panache even.

There is something heroic in the futile gesture. Not least in part because it's not always futile. I find the 'nearly' breaks almost as stirring as the ones that manage to go the distance.

Those ones caught in the last 100 metres are poignant but there's something awesome in the savage peloton too.

 

[biking_fox]

Because sometimes the sprinters teams get it wrong - or can't be bothered, if they're all tired after a hard day sometimes the breakaway will make it. The riders invovled will never win a stage on a contested finish. And if you don't have a Cav or a Contador in your team, then your only chance of glory is a breakway. Try it often enough - EUS seem good at this - and you get the wins.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

I think 'Beyond The Fringe' did a skit on it: They substituted a high ranking airforce officer for the 'Director Sportif' and a pilot for the Domestique. Apart from that the dialogue and sentiment are the same:

Said by Squadron Leader to Flying Officer Perkins: "I want you to lay down your life, Perkins."
"Right sir!"
"We need a futile gesture at (on?) this stage. It will raise the whole tone of the war."
"Yessir!"
"Get up in a crate, Perkins."
"Sah!"
"Pop over to Bremen."
"Yessir!"
"Take a shufti."
"Right sir!"
"And don't come back."
"Yessir"
"Goodbye, Perkins. God, I wish I was going too."
"Goodbye Sah! – Or is it au revoir?"
"No, Perkins, it's definitely Good Bye."



Or how we laughed. Who would have thought the best brains of Oxford and Cambridge would have sent up the Tour de France?

 

[zacklaws]

It was mentioned in the commentary yesterday, that a well known cyclist had stated , "that if your in a breakaway you have a 5% chance of winning the stage, but if your in the peleton, then you have practically no chance"

I just found this on the Radio Shack website from yesterday to confirm similar to what I heard:-

Chance of a Lifetime: A stage win in any pro race now is a big deal, but a win at a Grand Tour is a career highlight. So what if your chances are slim? No Guts, No Glory. Leopard Trek’s super domestique Jens Voigt put it well once saying that in a break, you may have, at best about a 5% chance of winning the stage. So many factors are against you. But he went on to say, that if you stay tucked into the relative safety of the peloton, your chances of success are zero, unless you’re one of the few blister-boys

 

[Adasta]

I think 'Beyond The Fringe' did a skit on it: They substituted a high ranking airforce officer for the 'Director Sportif' and a pilot for the Domestique. Apart from that the dialogue and sentiment are the same:

Said by Squadron Leader to Flying Officer Perkins: "I want you to lay down your life, Perkins."
"Right sir!"
"We need a futile gesture at (on?) this stage. It will raise the whole tone of the war."
"Yessir!"
"Get up in a crate, Perkins."
"Sah!"
"Pop over to Bremen."
"Yessir!"
"Take a shufti."
"Right sir!"
"And don't come back."
"Yessir"
"Goodbye, Perkins. God, I wish I was going too."
"Goodbye Sah! – Or is it au revoir?"
"No, Perkins, it's definitely Good Bye."



Or how we laughed. Who would have thought the best brains of Oxford and Cambridge would have sent up the Tour de France?

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5YW4qKOAVM[/media]

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

airtime and romance, panache even.
There is something heroic in the futile gesture. Not least in part because it's not always futile. I find the 'nearly' breaks almost as stirring as the ones that manage to go the distance.

Yes I never want the breakaway to be caught, I want them to fly! (unless it is the likes of Contador et al of course - If it is a lesser known rider, then you want them to have their day of glory, the main guys in the pack will be back to win again tomorrow).

Those ones caught in the last 100 metres are poignant but there's something awesome in the savage peloton too.

I haven't seen today's stage yet, but yesterdays (Stage 4) was quite frankly painful to watch, the 5 gallant riders, with their lead of 2.20+ being slowly eaten away as they tired and the Peleton started to gear up in the last 20km. Tragic.

 

[lukesdad]

Breakaways tend to suceed more when order has been asserted look to the riders who are behind with large time gaps 2nd week is usually the best time to go on a break.

 

[crisscross]

Thanks for the replies.

I love the romance of them not being caught but it seems all too rare an occurance.

I just wonder now how orchestrated the whole thing is between the teams - probably just the cycnic in me - but if 4 or 5 teams gets 2 hours of live tv coverage at the front - do they rotate it between them!

 

[lukesdad]

Thanks for the replies.

I love the romance of them not being caught but it seems all too rare an occurance.

I just wonder now how orchestrated the whole thing is between the teams - probably just the cycnic in me - but if 4 or 5 teams gets 2 hours of live tv coverage at the front - do they rotate it between them!

The French teams certainly dont.

 

[RedRider]

I just wonder now how orchestrated the whole thing is between the teams - probably just the cycnic in me - but if 4 or 5 teams gets 2 hours of live tv coverage at the front - do they rotate it between them!

The dynamics of the peloton is one of the most fascinating things isn't it? It's a society made up of groups and individuals with complex relationships and common and conflicting interests and goals. That's the way I like to think of it.

I'd say there's a host of unwritten and fragile deals and agreements made during a stage/tour/season/career in pro cycling.