Motor-paced racing

Motor-paced racing and motor-paced cycling refer to cycling behind a pacer in a car or more usually on a motorcycle. The cyclist follows as close as he can to profit from the slipstream of his pacer. The first paced races were behind other cyclists, sometimes as many as five riders on the same tandem. Bordeaux-Paris and record attempts have been ridden behind cars. More usually races or training are behind motorcycles.

Origins of pacing

Cyclists started to use tandem bicycles as pacers in the late 19th century. There could be as many as five riders on the pacing machine. Companies such as Dunlop sponsored pacing teams, and "tens of thousands" turned out to watch. A south London rider, J. W. Stocks, set British record of 32 miles 1 086 yards in an hour behind a Dunlop quintuplet on 27 September 1897. The pacing tandems were ridden by professionals, of whom as many as 100 were under contract. Each competitor had six to eight pacing teams for races between 50 and 100 miles.

Stayer (horse)

In horse racing, a stayer refers to a horse that may be a better performer over a longer distance, such as more than 1-1/2 miles. Sometimes, the term may also refer to a horse that is not able to quicken or speed up.

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