Professional Cycling - What would happen if a team broke away

If 3 or 4 riders from the same team made a breakaway (say milram) who would lead the chase? What if the breakaway included no jersey contenders?

If Cancelara with CSC team mates (without Sastre) broke away, would anyone pull the field hard?

If 3 or 4 riders from the same team made a breakaway (say milram) who would lead the chase? What if the breakaway included no jersey contenders?
If Cancelara with CSC team mates (without Sastre) broke away, would anyone pull the field hard?

Guess it would depend on who was in the break. If Cancelara tried I don't think he'd get very far :)

The team leading the team classification would probably chase them down, as would any team fancying their chances of winning the stage.

I don't remember ever seeing it tried, but don't follow all the tours. Anyone know of an instance it was tried?

If a team manager would be dumb enough to send 3 or 4 domestiques who were no threat to the GC out on a breakaway, I doubt anyone would chase too seriously unless another team wanted to win a stage that badly. They might keep them within a reasonable distance though.

It would leave their team leader in the peloton with less help; so they are more useful back with their team leader.

I don't remember ever seeing it tried, but don't follow all the tours. Anyone know of an instance it was tried?

Closest I can think of is teams trying to get a couple of riders up the road in the mountians before their GC guy makes his move.

The idea originally expressed just does not happen. Most likely because other teams would see it comming. To get off the front you need to get to the front. If several riders from one team all started moving up other teams would know something was up and be ready.

If you're entire team was planning on dropping out of the tour the next day then maybe, but its a three week race and to send 4 of your riders in a breakaway would be a quick way to decimate your team for the rest of the tour.

Not too mention, that breakaways only happen because the peloton lets them happen, and they would never let 4 riders from one team go.

If you're entire team was planning on dropping out of the tour the next day then maybe, but its a three week race and to send 4 of your riders in a breakaway would be a quick way to decimate your team for the rest of the tour.

Not too mention, that breakaways only happen because the peloton lets them happen, and they would never let 4 riders from one team go.

Good points, but there are plenty of teams with no chance as far as the GC goes. For those teams it would be a worthwhile gamble. Who even cares if it worked? (All the teams of the sprinters would need to do would be to adjust when they started chasing seriously, just an adjustment for the 4 guys not attacking each other near the end). They would get the publicity having a break with only their team in it. Actually from a publicity standpoint it would be great as it would be the TEAM name over and over instead of a list of 4 minor riders from different teams. (This happens to a degree in 10 man breaks where one of two teams have 2 riders each, those teams get mentioned a lot more because of their tactical advantages).

But the point reamins it is not that easy to do this. To do it you have to get 4 guys off the front at the same time. Hard enough to do it with 2.

Just think if there were no radios, no contact with the team car.

Just racing instead of team tactics

Just a thought

Just a flashback

Just george

I agree with a lot of people that say the radios are good for safety and such, but they are too ingrained into tactics.

Scenario: A team manager is sitting in his car with his laptop, cell phone, and radio basically watching the telemetry of each rider and running it through applications to determine EXACTLY what the standing of each rider is in each category at any instant and EXACTLY what speed their team and individual riders need to do to catch a breakaway or jersey contender within mere meters of the finish. Then they simpley radio that particular rider and give him his instructions.

I don't think that's what the Tour should be about.

Sure the execution of the game plan still depends on a rider's actual ability and subject to intangibles, but the management of the team and it's riders is really turning into a fantasy game or computer simulation.

I was specifically thinking of csc this past week. they spent 500km this week with 8 guys at the front of the peloton... They could have let 4 guys including cancellara go, and gap the field, and let other teams decide what they wanted to do... They'd be giving 4-5 guys a rest, and seeing if the other teams cared enough to fight.

A good 4 man TTT team might be able to take 10 minutes from the field in a flat stage, and even more if the sprint teams figure its too hard to catch up, and the GC teams think no one in the break will keep up in the mountains.

Are there prizes for winning/leading the team competition?

I was specifically thinking of csc this past week. they spent 500km this week with 8 guys at the front of the peloton... They could have let 4 guys including cancellara go, and gap the field, and let other teams decide what they wanted to do... They'd be giving 4-5 guys a rest, and seeing if the other teams cared enough to fight.

A good 4 man TTT team might be able to take 10 minutes from the field in a flat stage, and even more if the sprint teams figure its too hard to catch up, and the GC teams think no one in the break will keep up in the mountains.

Are there prizes for winning/leading the team competition?

And of course no one would care that the guy currently in Yellow is up the road! Right. This would be a majorly stupid move. Most likely outcome is the peleton cranks it up and catches them well before the finish. A catch is a great time to counter attack. Guess which team is now in no shape to stay with the burst?

The whole reason that the team of the rider currently in Yellow often chooses to be up front is to discourage attacks, to prevent attack/counter attack. It is also why they often do not pull back a break until near the end. Trying to get a group out does exactly the opposite.

I was specifically thinking of csc this past week. they spent 500km this week with 8 guys at the front of the peloton... They could have let 4 guys including cancellara go, and gap the field, and let other teams decide what they wanted to do... They'd be giving 4-5 guys a rest, and seeing if the other teams cared enough to fight.

A good 4 man TTT team might be able to take 10 minutes from the field in a flat stage, and even more if the sprint teams figure its too hard to catch up, and the GC teams think no one in the break will keep up in the mountains.

Are there prizes for winning/leading the team competition?

Wouldn't happen, 4 guys time trialling are still no match for 185 guys going all out. Even if you're "team" consisted of Cancellara, Zabriskie, Rogers, and Millar, they'd get caught in no time. There is no time to rest in a small breakaway, but in the peloton all you have to do is put in a hard one minute pull and then drift back to the back and catch your breath for say, half an hour, they put in your next hard pull when its your turn.

Not too mention, that breakaways only happen because the peloton lets them happen, and they would never let 4 riders from one team go.

You are missing this fact. Riders don't get off on a break, the peloton lets them go. Usually there are dozens of attempted breaks early in the day that are not even mentioned on the TV coverage that picks the stage up half way through. Every time a couple of riders go off each director does an evaluation of who is in it and how dangerous they are to their team. If any of the top teams don't like the makeup they chase it down. Nobody is going to let the yellow jersey or a top gc contender go off on a break. However, eventually getting a break established is a good thing as it settles the rest of the peloton down.

The way I calculate it, if Cancelera (or Pereiro last year) broke out with team, even if he's in Yellow, the concensus is he'll end up 1 hour behind winner, and peloton would chase at 50kph or so, but if the break can go faster than that, they would make time. Since Cancellara is flats-superman, they could make real time.

Basically, I understand that a lot of teams would recognize a medium threat, but that doesn't mean every team would up the chase to 55-60kmh. There's 20 other days to win a stage for everyone else, and the GC teams need to stay strong for their "real" GC threats. Discovery with Armstrong would chase down, but teams this year and last, don't really know who will win, and are not showing eagerness to control the race.

It would have a real chance of ending up like the Pereiro break last year. "Somebody should be doing something about this, if the break doesn't crack" mentality through the pack.

You are missing this fact. Riders don't get off on a break, the peloton lets them go. Usually there are dozens of attempted breaks early in the day that are not even mentioned on the TV coverage that picks the stage up half way through. Every time a couple of riders go off each director does an evaluation of who is in it and how dangerous they are to their team. If any of the top teams don't like the makeup they chase it down. Nobody is going to let the yellow jersey or a top gc contender go off on a break. However, eventually getting a break established is a good thing as it settles the rest of the peloton down.

COFIDIS has a lot of climbers and the're no GC threat. Maybe the earlier mountain stage before a killer stage they might be able to try it-the GC teams ignore them saving their energy for the next day, the sprinter teams can't challenge them in the mountains. Perhaps stage 7 (Bastille day) or 14. Be unlikely, but if anyone could pull it off, they might on those stages.

If 3 or 4 riders from the same team made a breakaway (say milram) who would lead the chase? What if the breakaway included no jersey contenders?

If Cancelara with CSC team mates (without Sastre) broke away, would anyone pull the field hard?

a few riders would go on a suicide mission and chase them down if they tried it. this has been talked about on tdf coverage.