Peloton is the bulk of packed cyclists that is grouped together in all long races, due to the lesser average air friction riders have to fight within it. In the

Peloton is the bulk of packed cyclists that is grouped together in all long races, due to the lesser average air friction riders have to fight within it. In the tour de france, the peloton group have a pretty homogenous total race time, outliers being either people frequently in leader group, or people that have mechanical problems or bad performance. Being in leaders groups frequently generally means you have put more efforts in the races, the smallers the groups, the harders. Not keeping up with the peloton is generally catastrophic since you add extra effort in finishing the race atop of your bad performance.