The latest on-bike footage from the Tour de France, shot by the riders themselves using bike-mounted cameras, gives further insight into the inner workings of the professional peloton.
Shot during stage eight of the 2015 Tour from Rennes to Mûr-de-Bretagne on Saturday, one section of the footage shows Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) frantically shouting "Moto!" to warn the riders further up the peloton that two gendarmes on motorbikes are riding up the right-hand-side of the road.
This year's Tour has been marked but some notable crashes and injuries, not least previous race leaders Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), who fractured his spine, and Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep), who broke his collarbone. But without a stream of communication between riders constantly during the race, there would be far more incidents.
>>> Alexis Vuillermoz wins in Mûr-de-Bretagne on Tour de France stage eight
All of the riders are aware that a crash as they travel often only centimetres apart at 40kmh could result in serious injury. There is a mutual respect that enables the peloton to function as a whole.
Elsewhere in this fascinating on-bike footage you can see Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) chatting to other riders, British national champion Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky) sweeping around bends in the Brittany countryside and race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) just after the tough uphill finish on the Mûr-de-Bretagne.
Frenchman Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r) won the stage from Daniel Martin (Cannondale-Garmin), with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) bringing home a group of overall contenders and stage hopefuls.
