Cycling (Road) in 70: Sprint conduct and holding your line — Section 1051: Sprint conduct and holding y

The objective in road cycling depends on the event. In a one-day race the winner is simply the first rider across the finish line after a set course, often 250 to 300 kilometres long. In a stage race such as the Tour de France, riders complete a sequence of daily stages, and the overall winner is the rider with the lowest cumulative time across every stage, recorded to the second. Because most flat stages finish in a large group credited the same time, the general classification is usually decided in the high mountains and individual time trials, where real time gaps open up.

A professional road race is contested by teams, typically of six to eight riders, whose job is to protect and position a designated leader or sprinter. Riders exploit drafting, sitting in the shelter of a tightly packed peloton to conserve energy, and the tactical battle centres on controlling that bunch, launching breakaways and timing decisive efforts. Alongside the overall win, riders compete for secondary classifications distinguished by coloured jerseys, and for individual stage victories that carry their own prestige.

The general classification, or GC, is the sum of every rider's daily finishing times across all stages. The leader wears a distinctive jersey, yellow at the Tour de France, pink at the Giro and red at the Vuelta. The rider with the lowest aggregate time after the final stage wins the race outright. Time bonuses of ten, six and four seconds for the top three on many stages, plus small penalties, can shuffle the standings, so the GC is defended and attacked every single day.