What is “Group Two” Syndrome?

Group Two Syndrome is a colloquialism used to describe the problems that occur in the group behind the breakaway or lead group at the time. Group two could be the peloton, but also a pursuing group apart from the peloton, which is often the case at the end of a race, especially on a steep hill climb before the finish, when the groups start to segregate based on attacks, those riding to their power, and those who are dropped.

The pursuing group generally has trouble deciding on a consensus of who is going to “work” and help attempt to catch up to the lead group. Given they’re so close to the finish most riders, if not all, in group two want to save their legs for the final few kilometres or the final sprint. This leads to a bystander effect where no one rider wants to take the reins and catch the lead group. Even if catching the lead group is entirely doable if group two collaborated on the work, the dysfunction leads to the inability to do so. It’s generally why being in the break has an added performance advantage because the lead group actively does not want to be caught and will more likely share duties (albeit dysfunction can definitely still occur).