RR

en-noun

RR (countable and uncountable, plural RRs)


RR

(aviation, travel, dated) (from the status code used in the GDS) reconfirm / reconfirmed.


climber

From Middle English climber, clymber, clymbare (“one who climbs, climber”), from climben (“to climb; to ascend, fly upward, rise; to slope upwards; to approach God in prayer; to advance; to overcome, triumph; to aspire; to be presumptuous”) + -er, -ere (suffix forming agent nouns). The English word is analysable as climb (verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

affix

Someone or something that climbs (such as a mountain climber).

(cycle racing) A cyclist who specializes in riding especially well on steep hills or roads.


draft

en-noun

draft (countable and uncountable, plural drafts)

A phonetic spelling of draught (compare laughter), from Middle English draught, draght (“that which is pulled; that which is drawn up, a design”), from Old English *dreaht, *dræht, from Proto-West Germanic *drahti, *drahtu, from Proto-Germanic *drahtuz (“a pulling, drawing”), equivalent to draw (“to draw, drag”) + -t. Cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Icelandic dráttur.

draught

British spelling of many senses, but not all

(nautical) The depth of water needed to float a particular ship; the depth from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull; the depth of water drawn by a vessel.

(American spelling, rail transport) The pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack (stretched) condition.


autobus

en-noun

autobus (plural autobuses or autobusses)

From auto- (prefix meaning ‘self’, in the sense of being self-propelled) + bus. Sense 2 (“large group of cyclists who have fallen behind the peloton”) is borrowed from French autobus.

prefix

(by extension, cycle racing) A large group of cyclists who have fallen behind the peloton (“main group of riders”) in a race.


peloton

Borrowed from French peloton (“small ball (of thread, etc.), pellet; (cycling) group of riders formed during a cycling road race; (military) small group of soldiers, platoon”), from pelote (“small ball (of thread, etc.)”) (ultimately from Latin pila (“ball; ball game; globe, sphere”) (probably referring to a ball of hair), from pilus (“strand of hair”), from Proto-Indo-European *pil- (“strand of hair”)) + -on (augmentative suffix). Doublet of platoon.

der

For the most part, though, the good stuff did not come in following a break of three riders, nor sitting 20 metres in front of the peloton watching its arrow head glide across the plains of south-west France. It was at the back of the peloton, in the engine room, where things really got interesting. It is a remarkable thing, the peloton. In the distance, or from the aerial shots showing it stretching and contracting, or splitting down the middle to allow it to flow smoothly around a roundabout, the 175 individual cyclists resemble a single unit, a fluid, malleable whole.

2006 July 15, “Tour de France 2006: Life is rarely dull among the bottle-carriers and peloton pushers”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-03-15:

The summit of the climb came 38km from the end of stage 14, which began in Limoux and ended in Foix in the foothills of the Pyrenees, and the incident occurred as the peloton emerged into the light and passed under the banner at the top, a quarter of an hour behind a five-man breakaway.

2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-03-31:

(cycle racing) A group of riders formed during a cycling road race; especially, the main group of riders; the pack.


GC

en-noun

GC (countable and uncountable, plural GCs)

general classification
general classification#English

(cycling) Initialism of general classification.

(Australia, film classification, dated) Initialism of general classification.


mount

From Middle English mounten, from Anglo-Norman munter, from Vulgar Latin *montāre (“climb”), from Latin montem (“mountain”). Compare modern French monter.

(now only figurative) A car, bicycle, or motorcycle used for racing.


pursuit

pursuit (countable and uncountable, plural pursuits)

Old French poursuite, from the verb porsuir (“to pursue”).

(cycle racing) A discipline in track cycling where two opposing teams start on opposite sides of the track and try to catch their opponents.


criterium

From French critérium (“competition”), from Latin critērium, from Ancient Greek κριτήριον (kritḗrion).

/kɹaɪˈtɪəɹiəm/

(cycling) A mass-start road-cycle race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit, the length of each lap or circuit ranging from about 1 km to 2 km (1/2 mile to just over 1 mile).

（自行車）繞圈賽 /（自行车）绕圈赛

road-cycle race consisting of a closed circuit


groupetto

groupetto (plural groupetti or groupettos)

Alteration of Italian grupetto after group.

I used to be a master of the groupetto, but it has been many years since I’ve been forced to ride in a bona fide, terminally dropped group. It’s strange to be back. Riding in the groupetto requires a different mentality and skill set.

2005, Bradley McGee, Riding in the Groupetto:

(music, cycle racing) Alternative form of gruppetto


breakaway

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2012 July 15, Richard Williams, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track, Guardian Unlimited:

(cycle racing) A group of riders which has gone ahead of the peloton.


velodrome

From French vélodrome, from vélo (“bicycle”) + -drome, from Ancient Greek δρόμος (drómos, “a course, race course, road”); velo- + -drome.

uder

An indoor arena, having an oval banked track for bicycle racing.


time trial

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(cycling, motor racing) An unpaced race in which riders or teams leaving at regular intervals are timed over a preset course or distance, the winner being the rider or team to finish in the fastest time.


Tour de France

/ˌtʊə də ˈfɹɑːns/

/ˌtʊə də ˈfɹɒns/

/ˌtʊɹ də ˈfɹæns/

/ˌtʊɹ də ˈfɹɑns/

Borrowed from French Tour de France (literally “Tour of France”).

bor

Sharing my predicament over a breakfast last week, he told me he commutes to his office every day by bike. Yet he was dressed in a smart black suit. His secret, he said, is black denim jeans with a 2 per cent elastane stretch — a great alternative for cyclists who don’t want to go full Tour de France.

2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times:

(cycle racing) An annual long-distance cycling race through France and other European countries.

ٹور ڈی فرانس

ṭūr ḍī Frāns


dossard

Borrowed from French dossard, from dos (“back (of a person)”) (ultimately from Latin dorsum (“back of the body”), further etymology uncertain) + -ard (suffix forming nouns indicating things belonging to or representing particular classes or sorts).

[Bernard] Hinault will also be wearing a 51 dossard, the same number with which Luis Ocana, [Bernard] Thevenet, [Eddy] Merckx, and [Jacques] Anquetil pedalled to victory in their first Tour.

1979, Robin Magowan, Tour de France: The 75th Anniversary Cycle Race, London: S. Paul, →ISBN, page 31:

We were a platoon of nine carrying the hopes of Team Barloworld through this twenty-one stage counterclockwise yomp around France. Me a mongrel with a Kenyan flag on my dossard and a British passport in my bag.

2014, Chris Froome, with David Walsh, “2008: The Tour de France”, in The Climb, London: Viking, →ISBN, page 148:

Hurricane Bertha—for it was she whose tail was beginning to lash those who had taken the option of a late start and a high dossard number—turned out to be a fickle mistress.

2014, Richard Williams, “RideLondon–Surrey Classic”, in Ian Cleverley, editor, This Island Race: Rouleur’s Year in the British Isles, London: Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 244:

(cycle racing) A bib attached to the back of a cyclist's shirt that carries the cyclist's race number.

2013 Tour de France
Odd Christian Eiking
Paris–Nice

selkänumero

bib attached to the back of a cyclist’s shirt that carries the cyclist’s race number


UCI

“I'm going to keep him under sedation until tomorrow morning, and then 5150 him at UCI Medical Center Psychiatric Unit.”

2006, J. T. McCalla, Reversal of Fear, page 187:

University of California, Irvine
w:University of California, Irvine

Initialism of University of California, Irvine.


circuit race

(bicycle racing) A mass-start road-cycle race somewhat similar to a criterium in that it consists of several laps of a closed circuit, but where the length of each circuit or lap is slightly longer, up to a couple of miles per lap.


stage race

general classification
general classification

(cycle racing) A multi-day cycle race consisting of a series of separate races (called stages) of various types (road races, criteriums, time trials) usually held one stage per day and all linked together by the general classification (GC).


KOM

King of the Mountains
king of the mountains#English

mountains classification
mountains classification#English

(cycling) Initialism of King of the Mountains. (in the mountains classification of a cycling road race)


DS

en-noun

DS (countable and uncountable, plural DSs or DSes)


directeur sportif

directeur sportif (plural directeurs sportifs)


feed zone

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(cycling) A designated place along the course of a bicycle race where it is permitted for the riders to receive food and energy drinks from their team support personnel.


USAC

Initialism of USA Cycling., the National Governing Body (NGB) for cycling in the United States


paceline

A formation in which riders (especially bicycle racers) travel in a line, one close behind the other, in order to conserve energy and travel faster by riding in the draft of the riders in front. The foremost rider periodically drops to the rear to allow another to take his or her place.


domestique

Borrowed from French domestique (“domestic servant, maid”), from domestique (“domestic”, adjective), from Latin domesticus (“of the house, domestic; familiar; native”), from domus (“home, house; place of one's birth or residence, native country”). Doublet of domestic.

der

In a recent poll [Sean] Yates was voted one of the top-10 domestiques of all time, a crucial cog to any leader's Tour ambitions. […] To many casual observers, the role of domestique is not a particularly rewarding one. Yates begs to differ.

2003 July 24, Matt Majendie, “Domestique Bliss”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2021-10-26:

[…] Bram De Groot, a domestique with the Dutch Rabobank team, drops out the back, one arm in the air. The team car responds instantly, swinging out of the line of support vehicles behind the peloton and racing, klaxon sounding, up to De Groot. The window opens and a hand emerges with a bidon (plastic drinks bottle). De Groot places it in his back pocket and the hand emerges with another. This one goes down the back of his shirt, and it is joined by five more. Then off he sprints to deliver them to thirsty team-mates. De Groot is one of the domestiques and this is their lot. They continually drop off, collecting bidons and sprinting back into the peloton with grotesquely bulging shirts.

(cycle racing) A cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team's designated leaders (for example, by riding in front of them to create a slipstream, or to set the pace), even if at the expense of their own individual performance.

1997 Tour de France
Jan Ullrich
Udo Bölts

gregari

cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance


general classification

en-noun

general classification (plural general classifications)

The overall standings in a bicycle stage race, based on a rider's total elapsed time in all stages of the race with the lowest time being the leader.


sprints classification

sprints classification (plural sprints classifications)

A competition held as part of a cycle race in which the riders are awarded points for being among the first few to pass certain pre-selected sprint points along the course. The leader (or winner) in the competition wears a special sprints jersey.

Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France


keirin

keirin (countable and uncountable, plural keirins)

From Japanese 競輪 (keirin, “racing cycles”).

The keirin is one of the few track cycling events not originating in the West, having been developed in Japan. […] Keirin is extrememly popular in Japan, in particular because of gambling on the races.

2011, Bill Mallon, Jeroen Heijmans, Historical Dictionary of Cycling, Scarecrow Press, →ISBN, page 113:

Japan, however, has developed the distinctive cycling subculture of Keirin racing. Launched in Japanese velodromes in 1948 as a state regulated system designed to cream-off a percentage of stake money to support Japan's newly reconstituted bicycle industry […]

2016, Glen Norcliffe, Critical Geographies of Cycling: History, Political Economy and Culture, Routledge, →ISBN:

(cycle racing) A form of track cycling originating in Japan, where riders must initially race behind a motorised pace-setter, the derny.


gruppetto

gruppetto (plural gruppetti or gruppettos)

(cycle racing) Synonym of autobus (“a large group of cyclists who have fallen behind the peloton (“main group of riders”) in a race”)


madison

Madison (dance)
Madison Avenue
Madison Square Garden
madison (cycling)

The cycling race is named after the original Madison Square Garden in New York, where the first such events were held. The dance is reportedly named after Madison Avenue, also in New York.

(cycle racing) A track cycling relay race in which team members take turns while racing round the track for the largest number of laps, and exchange places with a team mate by means of a touch, which may be a push or a hand-sling.


CX

CX (countable and uncountable, plural CXes)

(cycle racing) Initialism of cyclocross.


stagiaire

/stɑːʒiˈɛə(ɹ)/

Borrowed from French stagiaire (“trainee, intern”).

bor+

(cycle racing) An amateur rider who is taken in by a professional team during the season.


track cycling

Track cycling, which encompasses a number of different racing formats, is a different cycling discipline than the better-known multistage distance road events, such as the Tour de France or the Giro d’Italia.

2023 April 8, Remy Tumin, “Track Cycling Champion Dies in Collision in San Francisco”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(cycle racing) A form of cycling on a specially-designed track, especially, a velodrome.


individual pursuit

(cycle racing) A discipline in track cycling where two opposing cyclists start on opposite sides of the track and try to catch their opponent, or get a faster time over a pre-decided distance.


team pursuit

en-noun

team pursuit (countable and uncountable, plural team pursuits)

From team + pursuit. From being a team event, where the teams pursue each other.

(cycle racing) A discipline in track cycling where two opposing teams of up to four cyclists start on opposite sides of the velodrome track and try to catch their opponents, or get a faster time over a pre-decided distance.


yellow jersey

/ˌjɛləʊ ˈdʒɜːzi/

Calque of French maillot jaune: maillot (“jersey, shirt; vest”) + jaune (“yellow”, adjective).

The evergreen Marianne Vos, a multiple world champion, crowned her illustrious career by taking her first yellow jersey in the Tour de France Femmes after emphatically winning stage two of the week-long race in Provins.

2022 July 25, Jeremy Whittle, “Marianne Vos takes yellow jersey on second stage of Tour de France Femmes”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-07-25:

Especially in the Tour de France: the yellow shirt worn by the leader of a stage of a cycling race, which is then awarded to the cyclist who wins the race with the fastest overall time.

قَمِيص أَصْفَر

yellow jersey or shirt worn by the leader of a stage of a cycling race, which is then awarded to the cyclist who wins the race with the fastest overall time

The timing of the incident raised the question, almost certainly destined to remain unanswered, of whether, having allowed the escapers to pass by unhindered, the culprit had waited specifically for the yellow jersey group before sowing his mischief.

(by extension) A cyclist who wears such a jersey or shirt; hence, the leader of a stage of a cycling race, or the winner of a cycling race.


cyclocross

Roby was an old cyclocross champion from the ’40s, a rugged man built for traversing the bumps and ruts of off-road competition, but he had also ridden in the Tour for several years.

2009 July 15, George Vecsey, “Nod to the Past Stirs Memories of a Friend”, in New York Times:

(cycle racing) A form of bicycle racing consisting of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles and requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike whilst navigating the obstruction and remount in one motion.


broom wagon

(cycle racing) A vehicle that follows a cycling race, picking up stragglers and carrying food and equipment.


green jersey

(cycle racing) The green-colored shirt worn by the leader of a subsidiary competition in a race. In the Tour de France it is worn by the leader of the points competition.

mallot verd

shirt worn by the leader of the Tour de France points competition


Giro d'Italia

/ˌdʒɪəɹəʊ d‿ɪˈtaljə/

/ˌdʒiɹoʊ d‿ɪˈtæljə/

Borrowed from Italian Giro d'Italia (literally “Tour of Italy”).

bor

(cycle racing) An annual long-distance cycling race in Italy, usually held over three weeks.

طَوَاف إِيطَالِيَا

ṭawāf ʔīṭāliyā


Vuelta a España

en-proper noun

Vuelta a España (plural Vueltas a España)

Borrowed from Spanish Vuelta a España (literally “Tour of Spain”).

bor

(cycle racing) An annual long-distance cycling race in Spain.


rouleur

Borrowed from French rouleur (“one who causes something to roll, roller; something which rolls; cyclist who performs well on flat and undulating roads, rouleur”), from rouler (“to roll”) + -eur (suffix forming masculine nouns from verbs). Rouler is derived from Old French ruele, roele (“small wheel”) (from Medieval Latin rotulō, from Latin rotula (“small wheel; a roll”), from rota (“wheel”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- (“to run”)) + -ula (feminine singular of -ulus (diminutive suffix))) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).

(cycle racing) A cyclist who performs well on flat and undulating roads.


soigneur

Borrowed from French soigneur (“non-riding member of a cycling team; physiotherapist; trainer”), from soigner (“to look after, take care of; to nurse, treat”) + -eur (suffix forming masculine nouns from verbs). Soigner is derived from soin (“care”, noun) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sunjō, *sunþijō (“care, responsibility; sooth, truth”), from *sunjaz (“real, true”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sónts, the active participle of *h₁ésti (“to be”), from *h₁es- (“to be”)) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs). Doublet of soigné.

(cycle racing) A non-riding member of a racing team whose role is to provide support (such as massages, supplies, and transportation) for the cyclists.

assistent

non-riding member of a racing team whose role is to provide support for the cyclists


track cyclist

(cycle racing) Someone who cycles on a track.


sticky bottle

(cycle racing, slang) A water bottle, handed from a car occupant to a cyclist during a race, illicitly used to aid the rider as he/she briefly maintains a grasp on the bottle while being carried along by the car.