page_title: Glossary of cycling
section_title: D
hierarchical_section_title: Glossary of cycling / D
caption_attribution_description: Mountain bike
context_page_description: This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
context_section_description: Danseuse
  (French: danser – to dance) Riding out of the saddle, standing up, usually in a taller gear than normal, and rocking side to side for leverage.  The phrase dancing on the pedals is related.
   Derailleur
  A device used to change gears, activated by shifters.
   Descender
  A cyclist who excels at fast descents, often using them to break away from a group, or bridge a gap.
   Devil
  Colloquial name for an elimination race, an endurance track event where the last rider across the finish line is eliminated every two laps (from the phrase "the Devil takes the hindmost").
   Diesel
  A rider who has an even energy output, without any bursts of speed, is said to be a diesel or diesel engine.
   Directeur sportif
  Team manager.
   Domestique
  A rider whose job is to support and work for other riders in their team (literally "servant" in French). Today the term has lost its bad connotation and serves as an acknowledgement of the true nature of racing tactics. See also water carrier.
   Door prize
  A collision with the door of a parked car, typically opened suddenly in the cyclist's path.
   Drafting
  To ride closely behind another rider to make maximum use of their slipstream, reducing wind resistance and effort required to ride at the same speed.
   Drop
  (or drop-off) A steep section, or sudden drop on a mountain bike trail.
  To be dropped is to be left behind a breakaway or the peloton for whatever reason, usually because the rider cannot sustain the tempo required to stay with the group. To drop someone is to accelerate strongly with the intent of causing following riders to no longer gain the benefit of drafting.
  (or "Drops") The lower part of the handlebars on a road bike; they run parallel with the top-tube.
   Dropout
  The slot, of various sizes and orientations, in the frame that the axles of the wheels attach to.
caption: A drop on a downhill section of a race course
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