• Attack – A sudden acceleration to move ahead of another rider or group of riders
  • Bell, Bell Lap – A bell is rung to signify the last lap before the finish or a prime
  • Big ring – the largest of the front cogs
  • Break, Breakaway – A rider or group of riders that has left the main group behind
  • Bridge – To leave one group of riders and join another one that is further ahead
  • Cadence – the speed at which you pedal
  • Cat, Category – Rider competition levels in USCF races. Cat 5, Cat 4, Cat 3, Cat 2, Cat1
  • Chase, Chasers – Riders trying to catch a breakaway group or rider
  • Cleats – the mechanism that is screwed to the sole of the shoe to fit clipless pedals
  • Clipless pedals – your shoe is attached to the pedal with cleats Computer measures your speed, distance travelled, cadence etc
  • Domestique – A team rider who will sacrifice his/her individual performance to help a designated teammate. Duties can include giving up ones bike for another rider, supplying refreshments to teammates, catching breakaway riders. French for “servant.”
  • Draft – To ride closely behind a competitor, saving energy by using that racer as a wind break. Riding in front is very strenuous but affords a great energy-saving advantage to the rider behind
  • Drop, Dropped – When a rider has been passed by another
  • Groupset – collective term for all the main components of the bicycle
  • Field sprint: A sprint at the finish among the main group of riders in a road race
  • Flyer – A surprise attack, usually by a solo rider. Also a rider who gains speed within the peloton attempting to reach the front
  • Gap – The amount of time or distance between a rider or group of riders and another rider or group of riders
  • Hammer – To ride hard. Also, to “put the hammer down.”
  • Jump – A quick acceleration which usually develops into a sprint
  • Lead out – To intentionally sacrifice ones chances in order to create a windbreak, thus creating an opening for a rider behind. A racing tactic whereby one rider races at high speed to give a head start to the rider on his/her wheel
  • Off the back – When a rider or riders cannot keep pace with the main group and lag behind
  • Off the front – When a rider takes part in a breakaway
  • Peloton – The main group of riders; also called the pack, bunch or field. French
  • Presta valve – the long thin valve found on road, touring and hybrid bikes
  • Prime – An award given for the rider to reach a certain point mid-race in a sprint. Pronounced “preem.” French
  • Pull – To take a turn at the front of the group, maintaining the same speed of the group
  • Quick release (QR) – skewers a means of tightening and releasing a wheel quickly
  • Rotating – The action of each rider going to the front of a group and riding at the front in turn to keep the pace high
  • Schraeder valve – the fat valve, mainly found on mountain bikes
  • Sitting in, Sit on a wheel, Sitting on – Drafting, or riding closely behind the rider immediately in front to save energy. Also known as wheelsucking. See wheelsucking
  • Sitting up – When the rider is no longer tucked, or riding in the most aerodynamic fashion
  • SPD ‘Shimano Pedalling Dynamics’ – Shimano’s term for its clipless pedal
  • Stage race: A bike race held over successive days, with a different course each day. Stage races often feature a combination of long road races, a criterium and a time trial. The rider with the lowest total time (or most accumulated points) after completion of all the stages wins the overall race
  • Velo – Bike. French