Breakaway

In road cycling, a breakaway (or 'the break') is a small group of riders, sometimes a lone attacker, who escape off the front of the main bunch and try to stay clear all the way to the finish. Breakaways are the sport's great gamble: the riders out front cooperate by taking turns in the wind to build a lead, while the peloton behind decides whether the gap is worth chasing down. A break can succeed when the bunch misjudges the danger or no team wants to spend energy leading the pursuit, but more often it is reeled in during the closing kilometres and swallowed up before the sprint. Riders join breaks for many reasons: a genuine shot at the win, hunting mountain or points-classification prizes, or simply getting their sponsor's jersey on television for hours. When a breakaway holds off a charging bunch by a few seconds, it is one of cycling's most dramatic finishes. Race coverage and rules are at the UCI.