Sprinter (cycling)

A sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.

Apart from using sprinting as a racing tactic, sprinters can also compete for intermediate sprints (sometimes called ), often to provide additional excitement in cities along the route of a race. In stage races, intermediate sprints and final stage placings may be combined in a points classification. For example, in the points classification in the Tour de France, the maillot vert (green jersey) is won by the race's most consistent sprinter. At the Tour de France, the most successful recipient of this honor is German sprinter Erik Zabel, who won a record six Tour de France green jerseys (1996–2001).

Sprinters have a higher ratio of fast-twitch muscle fibers than non-sprinters. Road cycling sprinters sometimes tend to have a larger build than the average road racing cyclist, combining the strength of their legs with their upper body to produce a short burst of speed necessary in a closely contested finish. Some sprinters have a high top speed but may take a longer distance to achieve it, while others can produce short and sharp accelerations.

A sprinter is usually heavier, limiting their speed advantage to relatively flat sections. It is therefore not uncommon for sprinters to be dropped by the peloton (also known as the 'bunch' or 'pack') if a race is through hilly terrain.

Sprinters may have different preferences. Some prefer a longer "launch" while others prefer to 'draft' or slipstream behind their team-mates or opponents before accelerating in the final meters. Some prefer slight uphill finishes, while others prefer downhill finishes.

In conventional road races, sprinters may bide their time waiting until the last few hundred metres before putting on a burst of speed to win the race. Many races will finish with a large group sprinting for the win; some sprinters may have team-mates, so-called domestiques 'leading them out' (i.e., keeping pace high and sheltering the sprinter) so that they have a greater chance of finishing in the leading positions. These team-mates tend to "peel off" one by one as they tire; the last team-mate is known as the "lead-out sprinter" and the best of them are excellent sprinters in their own right.

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