domestique

1. (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.Examples: "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."; "[…] 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."Synonyms: water carrier