Originally Posted by TheRCF
"drag them back".
Does this mean that having someone right behind you, assuming you are in front, slows you down (as opposed to race cars where the front car still benefits some)?Bob
The direct answer to your question: No.
It doesn't physically slow the lead rider down, but since he has been tactically neutralized, he will probably give up and rejoin the pack.
It doesn't always work, though - early on in the 1995 Tour De France, Miguel Indurain broke away on a flat stage, and an ONCE domestique went out to "drag him back". Indurain didn't give up, and dragged the guy something like 50 kilometers to the finish. Indurain was beaten in the sprint, but he gained some time and mentally deflated his rivals back in the pack.