peloton

¹

[pel-uh-ton, pel-uh-ton, plaw-tawn]

noun

Cycling.

1. a large pack or cluster of bicyclists in a road race, riding closely together to reduce wind resistance and conserve their energy.

peloton

²

[pel-uh-ton, pel-uh-ton, plaw-tawn]

noun

1. an ornamental glass made in Bohemia in the late 19th century, usually having a striated overlay of glass filaments in a different color.

peloton

/ ˈpɛləˌtɒn /

noun

1. cycle racing the main field of riders in a road race

Word History and Origins

Origin of peloton¹

First recorded in 1935–40; from French: literally, “little ball (especially of thread), small body of soldiers”; platoon ( def. ), peloton ²

Origin of peloton²

First recorded in 1710–20; from French: literally, “ball, ball of string,” equivalent to pelote “ball” + -on diminutive suffix; pellet, peloton ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of peloton¹

C20: French, literally: pack

Example Sentences

A 27-year old Slovenian with a growing case to surpass the legendary Belgian Eddy Merckx as cycling’s greatest rider ever, Pogacar is easy to spot in a peloton swarm because of the tufts of hair sticking from his helmet vents.

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Someone finally barks “Get him!” as a bunch of agents feebly give chase; the man pedals away like he’s a Tour de France champion with a peloton hot on his trail.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Vuelta - won by Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard - was affected by protests across at least eight stages of the race, leading to crashes in the peloton and organisers having to end stages early.

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But riders from several teams were affected, including Spain's Javier Romo who abandoned after a crash on stage 15 when protesters ran toward the advancing peloton.

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Stage 10: Simone Petilli of Intermarche-Wanty crashed as the peloton compressed when protestors ran into the road in the Pyrenees.

Read more on BBC