It's that moment in a cycling race just before the start, when the peloton lines up, heads down, hands on the handlebars, eyes turned inwards. Sweat is already dripping, even though the battle hasn't begun. And then – the bang, the signal, the machine is running!

It's the shared pull in the slipstream, the brief nods of agreement within the peloton, the knowledge: everyone here is suffering, everyone here is burning. But in the end, everyone is riding for that one moment when they launch their sprint, let their legs explode – and the asphalt disappears behind them.