Cycling climbing specialist

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In the sport of road cycling, a climbing specialist is a cyclist who trains to ride especially well on highly inclined roads, as on mountains. On a cycling team, the job of the climber is to make the grueling work of climbing long stretches easier for the rest of the team or the peloton by allowing them to "draft." As in NASCAR and other races, the competitor at the front of the pack must do more work due to aerodynamic resistance, whereas his/her followers will have to do less work if they line up properly. Thus the climber must have a lot of endurance and specifically developed muscle for long hard climbs, depending on expected race conditions.

In the Tour de France, the best climber in each stage is awarded a polka dot jersery.