Cyclus domesticus? Hold on, isn\’t that a \”domestique\”?

This is where you\’d think a domestique would be, wouldn\’t you? The word sounds like a household servant of days gone by.

In the world of two-wheeled racing, domestique means \”servant\”, but those folks aren\’t scrubbing floors, or polishing the woodwork, or carrying water.

Wait a second. I\’ll take that last one back. Carrying bidons of water and sports drink from the team car to other team members certainly is one of the tasks of a domestique. They also fetch food from the team car. They\’ll even carry items of clothing, such as jackets, back and forth.

The job of the domestiques is to help their team\’s leader to win. They\’ll create a slipstream for the leader so he or she can conserve energy until it\’s time to make the crucial move. They\’re there to help if mechanical issues crop up; a domestique might even give his/her bike to the team leader if necessary.

I\’m not sure whether I\’d rather be the team leader, or a domestique. I suppose that the leader feels the pressure to perform well, even to win. A domestique might well want to win the race, and might be completely capable of doing so; but domestiques aren\’t there to win. You could call them the \”supporting cast\”, aiding their leader home to the finish line.

I\’ll never be in the pro peloton; I just ride for the joy of it. The small, everyday stuff, you know. I\’m for sure a Cyclus Domesticus.