text: in cycling, why must the climber and the sprinter always get the rewards, and the break-always go unrewarded? unless there are huge, huge mountains, every regular race stage in a major tour (other than the time trials) seems to end in a pack sprint finish, with the same 2-4 people nearly always winning it. wouldn't it be better if they could somehow get rewards for being in a break-away, and if break-aways could have motorised pacer assistance to help them stay clear, and to help further break-aways catch the front break-away group? it's become, more or less, a formality.  usually the weaker teams send a rider on a suicide run, mostly for publicity, but also in hopes that the peloton will not see the rider as a threat and let him win.  depending on the stage and how far into the race, the teams may cooperate to reel in the break or let it go.  for instance, during the first week of the tour de france, sprinter teams will not let any breaks get away because it's their only chance to score wins. they must capitalize on that opportunity because the mountain stages are not suited for them. similarly, the climbers lay low in the peloton until the race reaches the mountains. it is their only chance to win so they will not let any breaks get away to spoil their chances at victory.  that's not to say breaks are fruitless endeavors. transition stages are great opportunities for attackers. usually, these are the only stages breakaway riders get, and they are far and few in between. sometimes, attackers get lucky and the peloton misjudge the strength of the breakaway, or the peloton refuse to cooperate. the 2006 tdf contains numerous examples of this.