In speed skating, a peloton is the main pack of skaters who skate closely together in a mass start or pack-style race to save energy and position themselves tactically. It’s borrowed from cycling, where it means the large group that rides together to benefit from drafting and reduced air resistance.

Quick definition

  • The peloton is the biggest group of skaters moving as a pack during a race.
  • Skaters in the peloton use each other’s slipstream to reduce air resistance, so they can go fast while spending slightly less energy, similar to cyclists.
  • Breakaway skaters go ahead of the peloton, while dropped skaters fall behind it, just like in road cycling.

Why the peloton matters in speed skating

  • Energy saving: Drafting behind others reduces the wind load on following skaters, letting them conserve energy for key sprints and the final lap.
  • Tactics and positioning: Skaters constantly fight for good spots inside the peloton (not boxed in, not too far back) so they can respond to attacks and set up for sprint laps.
  • Race dynamics: In mass start events, most of the race is controlled by the peloton, with short, sharp accelerations when someone attacks or when sprint points or the final finish line are coming up.

Example: mass start race

In modern long-track mass start, many skaters begin together, form a peloton, then launch attacks or sprints from that pack over 16 laps. You’ll see a tight cluster of skaters circling the oval, with a few trying to escape off the front and the rest of the peloton deciding whether to chase or let them hang out ahead.

TL;DR: A peloton in speed skating is the main pack of skaters racing closely together to save energy and play tactics, very similar to the big group of riders in a cycling race.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.