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Hanging on to the Tail ToB40
While many were racing in hopes of glory on the front end of the peloton, or even further up the road, others, like Ian Bibby (NFTO) and Boy Van Poppel (Trek Segafredo) were desperate to hold onto the tail of the group. Fortunately, if they did drop off the back, there was only 20 kilometers left to race, so they need not worry about not making the time cut. Yes, if a rider does not finish the stage within a certain percentage of the stage winners time, he is disqualified and can not start the next stage. One way to avoid this fate is to be one of a large group that would force the organizers to kick out too many from the race. This group is referred to as the Grupetto or the l'Autobus and is frequently where you will find all of the sprinters on a mountain stage.