Originally Posted by
KiwiDallas
3. What is the point of "chasing down" a breakaway rider, especially uphill? So the pursuit riders catch up with him ... then what happens? They can't slash his tires.
Very often, it's defensive tactics. If the rider up the road is a potential threat to your team's top-placed GC rider for overall time, chasing down that rider eliminates any time advantage that rider might have gained at the finish of the stage. For flat stages, a team may work hard to chase down a breakaway so their sprinter still has the opportunity to win the stage.