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Domestique
In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, domestique translates as "servant". The use of the term dates back to 1911, although such riders had existed before then.
Much of a cyclist's effort is to push aside the air in front of them. Riding in the slipstream of another rider is easier than taking the lead. The difference increases with speed. Racers have known this from the start and have ridden accordingly, often sharing the lead between them. From there it is a small step to employing a rider to create a slipstream while their leader rides behind them.[citation needed]
More complicated tactics become possible as the number of domestiques available increases (see below). Where the domestique finishes a race is less important than the help he gives. During their role as domestiques, riders do not share the fame of their respective leaders, such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, or Miguel Induráin.[citation needed]
Many domestiques have ultimately gone on to achieve fame of their own, however. Lucien Aimar, who supported Jacques Anquetil, won the 1966 Tour de France. Greg LeMond won the 1986 Tour de France after being Bernard Hinault's domestique in the 1985 Tour de France, as did Jan Ullrich in 1997 after riding for Bjarne Riis in 1996, Chris Froome in 2013 after riding for Bradley Wiggins in 2012,[citation needed] and Jonas Vingegaard, who scored second place at the Tour in 2021 before ultimately going on to win in 2022 and 2023 after being domestique for Primož Roglič in 2020. The writer Roger St Pierre said:
It is team tactics which so often win or lose races – and the lieutenants and the dog soldiers who expend their energy blocking chasing moves when they have riders up the road in a position to win. It is they who ride out into the wind so their aces can get an easier ride tucked inside their wheel [close to the rider in front and in his shelter]. Rare indeed is the major victory that cannot be credited in large part to the groundwork laid by the domestiques.
— Roger St Pierre
The first riders known to have been employed to help a leader were Jean Dargassies and Henri Gauban. They rode in the 1907 Tour de France for Henri Pépin, who promised them the equivalent of first prize if they would pace him from restaurant to restaurant. The three never hurried. They took 12 hours and 20 minutes longer than Émile Georget on the stage from Roubaix to Metz – they were far from last – and the judges were powerless because the race was decided not on time but points. It mattered less what speed riders competed than the order in which they crossed the line. In an era when riders could be separated by hours, there was no point in hurrying after a rival who could not be caught and passed. The judges had to wait for everyone.
The rules of the Tour in its first decades forbade team riding, but Pépin did little to affect the result. He dropped out on stage five.[citation needed]
Domestique
In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, domestique translates as "servant". The use of the term dates back to 1911, although such riders had existed before then.
Much of a cyclist's effort is to push aside the air in front of them. Riding in the slipstream of another rider is easier than taking the lead. The difference increases with speed. Racers have known this from the start and have ridden accordingly, often sharing the lead between them. From there it is a small step to employing a rider to create a slipstream while their leader rides behind them.[citation needed]
More complicated tactics become possible as the number of domestiques available increases (see below). Where the domestique finishes a race is less important than the help he gives. During their role as domestiques, riders do not share the fame of their respective leaders, such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, or Miguel Induráin.[citation needed]
Many domestiques have ultimately gone on to achieve fame of their own, however. Lucien Aimar, who supported Jacques Anquetil, won the 1966 Tour de France. Greg LeMond won the 1986 Tour de France after being Bernard Hinault's domestique in the 1985 Tour de France, as did Jan Ullrich in 1997 after riding for Bjarne Riis in 1996, Chris Froome in 2013 after riding for Bradley Wiggins in 2012,[citation needed] and Jonas Vingegaard, who scored second place at the Tour in 2021 before ultimately going on to win in 2022 and 2023 after being domestique for Primož Roglič in 2020. The writer Roger St Pierre said:
It is team tactics which so often win or lose races – and the lieutenants and the dog soldiers who expend their energy blocking chasing moves when they have riders up the road in a position to win. It is they who ride out into the wind so their aces can get an easier ride tucked inside their wheel [close to the rider in front and in his shelter]. Rare indeed is the major victory that cannot be credited in large part to the groundwork laid by the domestiques.
— Roger St Pierre
The first riders known to have been employed to help a leader were Jean Dargassies and Henri Gauban. They rode in the 1907 Tour de France for Henri Pépin, who promised them the equivalent of first prize if they would pace him from restaurant to restaurant. The three never hurried. They took 12 hours and 20 minutes longer than Émile Georget on the stage from Roubaix to Metz – they were far from last – and the judges were powerless because the race was decided not on time but points. It mattered less what speed riders competed than the order in which they crossed the line. In an era when riders could be separated by hours, there was no point in hurrying after a rival who could not be caught and passed. The judges had to wait for everyone.
The rules of the Tour in its first decades forbade team riding, but Pépin did little to affect the result. He dropped out on stage five.[citation needed]
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