Cycling Team Specialists

Even though Mark Cavendish is leading the Amgen Tour of California, by winning the first two stages of the week long race, he will not win the Amgen Tour. The first two stages were flat enough to allow the sprinter in the race to compete at the end of the race. In the three of the next four stages, the mountain climbing will bring other riders to the front. Mountain climbing is not Mark Cavendish's specialty. Therefore, he will struggle to stay with the peloton in the next few stages.

For cyclists new to watching pro cycling, the various roles within a pro cycling team can be confusing. When watching a multi-stage race, certain stages are declared by the commentators to be 'Sprinters' stage or 'Climber' stage. There are six types of specialists in road racing:
• Climber
• Puncheur
• Time Trialer
• Sprinter
• Domestique
• All-Rounder
The climber excels when the roads tilts up, and the climb is long and steep. These climbs could be 6 miles or more. Climbers tend be smaller and lighter. For example, one of the premier pro climbers, Alberto Contador is 5 9" (176 cm) and weighs 137 lbs. (62 kg).  Smaller riders need to exert less energy to propel themselves up grades that can approach 15% or more. Climbers compete for 'King of the Mountain' honors that stage races award for cyclists who accumulate the most points from each of the mountain climbs in the race. Climbers do not do well in sprints since they do not have the top end power required to get up to 30+ mph in a short sprint distance.
The Puncheur is slighter larger that the climber. The puncheur is good at short, steep, rolling climbs, typically less than 2 miles. They do not have the endurance of the climber. They are very good at the one-day Spring Classics, such as Paris-Roubaix and the occasional time trial stage where the stage terrain has short hills. Fabien Cancellara is a prime example of a Spring Classic specialist.
Time Trailer specialize in putting out maximum power and maintaining a high speed over a course of up to 30 miles (50 km). The time trial is often called the  Race of Truth since it a race of each cyclist against the clock. Cyclists will wear special aerodynamic kits and use expensive aerodynamic bicycles. Tony Martin, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Fabien Cancellara are top time trialists.
If there is a relatively flat stage, then the sprinters will gather at the end of the stage and then thunder down to the finish line at up to 40+ mph. Sprinters are the largest member of the pro cycling team, with larger legs and upper body that will help propel them toward the finish line. Sprinters will use lead-out trains, strong, fast team members who will line up in front of the sprinter, allowing the sprinter to save his energy by drafting behind them. At defined moments, each member of the lead-out train will peel off (incidentally, blocking competitors following them). At the last moment, the last one teammate will peel off and the sprinter will pour on the speed, cranking out around 1500 watts.
Domestiques, French for 'servant', are the support teammates for the specialists, such as climbers, sprinters and the All-Rounders. They perform numerous functions that help the team leaders, such as going back to the team support car to get water bottles and pass  them out to the team at regular intervals. They will form the lead-out train for the sprinter. They will gather around the all-rounder to shield the all-rounder from the wind. They will pace the all-rounder or the climber up mountain passes, putting out a maximum effort until they pull off and then struggle to stay up with the peloton. There are so-called Super Domestiques, or road lieutenants, who direct team actions on the road, like the retired George Hincapie.
The All-Rounder are the team leaders going for the overall stage race championship. To contend for a Grand Tour win, ideally the All-Rounder should be in the top echelon of two specialties, climbing and time trailing. The All-Rounder does not have to be the best in each category, but within climbing or time trail stages, the All-Rounder can move ahead of his competitors in overall time, which is the criteria of winning a stage race. All of the other specialists, will lose time in the other types of stages. Currently Chris Froome and Alberto Contador are among the top All-Rounders.

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