Domestique

Domestik referred to in cycling a racing driver, whose primary task is to support his team captain and the team.

The term comes from the French Domestik where a domestique servants referred.

In cycling, the name of the founder of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange was coined. Meant he was on the racing driver Maurice Brocco during the Tour de France in 1911, which is considered the first Domestik in cycling. As Brocco was clear that he could not decide for the overall classification of the Tour, he offered the Tour de France winner of 1909, François Faber, his services as pacemakers in, presumably for a fee. As Desgrange noticed this, he disqualified Brocco, because he was of the opinion that the tour should be the fight of every individual; time there were no teams. Desgrange criticized Broccos behavior in the journal L'Auto, which organized the tour and its editor he was, with the words: "He is unworthy. He's just a Domestik. Domestik " for cyclists who ride for the victory of another, but this is not frowned upon today, but common practice is " Hence the name established ".

Today domestics concentrate on their team to support the respective captain of the team. They create for him drinks zoom, offer him slipstream took him to a breakdown back to the field approach and monitor its main opponents. As a caregiver in a team are essential because they only create the conditions for victory, and the captain of the team. Synonymous terms are: Gregario, helper, Knecht, water carriers and team drivers. There are also so-called " noble domestics ": not good enough to really mitzumischen forward, but also to succeed, to do only helper services. This "may" win with the support of their captain smaller races or stages sometimes.