A bike race presents the perfect backdrop to showcase the plight of opportunists.

There are the ‘escapees’ who will stay out at the front of the bike race from the start – working all day to stay away…all hoping to make it to the finish line before the chasing peloton.

Very often, these opportunists fail in their quest by the slimmest of margins. They then get swallowed by the chasers and are in no condition to contest the race any longer. But there are those rare occasions when the opportunists succeed, seeming to defy the odds.

Failure and sometimes success against the odds – that is the plight of the opportunists.

However, what most of us do not see in the same bike race are the hidden opportunists. These are the riders who choose to stay in the chasing peloton. The pure sprinter’s opportunity is to hide in the peloton until the last 200m before they unleash their preserved explosive acceleration. The sprinter’s hunting ground is in the peloton – not in the small group of break aways slaving away swapping turns to escape the clutches of the chase.

Then, there are the ‘GC’ riders who hunt in the arena of time differences. Their opportunities lay in positioning themselves within striking distance of their main rivals. They pounce on the chance to gain time over their main rivals in their race within a race.

The mountain points jersey is won by a calculating climber who conserves their energy until the right mountain tops appear. And the green jersey has to survive the mountains to stay in contention. Even the ‘domestiques’ have their place of work where they have to impress to make next season’s team.

Most opportunities are hidden and so are the opportunists. In the classic “Acres of Diamonds” story by R H Conwell, the hero goes far and wide looking for ‘the opportunity’ and ends up missing it because it is buried in his back yard.

To the un-initiated, the opportunities (and the opportunists) are at the head of the bike race – but the knowledgeable wait for the finish because they know different. Likewise, we all set forth in this world to seek our fortunes… and we end up in our old age realising that we were going after the wrong opportunity.