The main specialities in road bicycle racing are:
Climber
A climbing specialist is a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads, such as those found among hills or mountains.
Time trialist
A time trialist is a road bicycle racer who can maintain high speeds for long periods of time, to maximize performance during individual or team time trials.
Sprinter
A cycling sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.
Domestique
A domestique is a road bicycle racer who works solely for the benefit of his or her team and leader. The French domestique literally translates as “servant”, though the French term for such a team worker is porteur d’eau (literally: water carrier, like the German Wasserträger). In Italy and Spain, the term gregario (a kind of soldier of the roman legions, “one into the group” is used, while in Belgium and the Netherlands the term knecht (“servant”) or helper (“helper”) is used.
All-rounder
A racing cyclist who excels in both climbing and time trialing, and may also be a decent sprinter. In stage races, an all-rounder seeks a top-10 place in the General Classification. Eddy Merckx and Lance Armstrong were both notable all-rounders; Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and Alejandro Valverde are more contemporary examples.
