Hey everyone,

I have a quick question about a lead pack and how points for KOM and Sprinter are awarded.

It seems in these flat stages, that a breakaway group always take off and eventually at the end, the peleton catches up to them.

However, for each sprint and Climb, do the breakaway riders essentially get these points?

Sprinter: it seems since the points during the mini-sprints during the ride are so little that the end finish is what matters, as that is where the 35/30 …. And time bonuses are achieved?

KOM: the points during these flat stages are so small that the points accumulated by non-climbers who are in the breakaway on the flat stages are not enough to really challenge the real climbers in the Alps and Pyrenees stages.


Am I correct in the above?

That's it in a nutshell. Nobody wants to do all the work of chasing down a break just for the intermediate sprints or small hill points - they'll save their energy for the sprint finish or big mountains.

Sometimes, the sprinter/climber's team will place guys in breaks just to mop up points and make sure nobody else gets them.

Money is a driving force for a lot of those breakaways, too. It's over a $1000 to win each Intermediate Sprint. For most of those guys the couple points and time bonuses aren't really worth blowing up over. But the miniscul chance that the bunch never reels them in is worth the $10,000 prize for winning the stage. If they don't breakaway and stay with the peloton, they stand a 0% chance of beating the real sprinters to the line. Their only hope is that for one day, their legs and will to win will overcome the peloton's attention to their breakaway.

Plus, for a lot of these guys, and teams for that matter, exposure for their sponsor means and their name itself means a great deal. Because any media outlet covering the race is going to spend adequate time these days on the breakaways.

Thanks guys. And Scout, great point on exposure. They were commenting on this today on Versus as to why the Barloworld rider was trying to stay in the break.

Thanks guys.