Originally Posted by
LowCel
They were hoping to not get caught. Breakaways don't work often but when they do the reward is huge. If you are in a successful breakaway of five you have a 20% chance of winning the stage. If you are in the peloton and you are not a sprinter you have virtually no chance of winning the stage.
On top of that, every time the breakaway guys were on TV their name was being announced and their sponsors names were being seen by millions of people. That is what the sponsors are in it for, advertising. It is the riders job to get their sponsors that advertising.