The Game Turn

The five steps of a Leader 1: Hell of the North turn: breakaway riders, breaking away, moving inside the peloton, pursuit and the peloton's move, dropped riders — with free and paying squares and energy recovery.

Turn order

1. Breakaway riders move
2. Breaking away
3. Moving inside the peloton
4. Pursuit and peloton movement
5. Dropped riders move

Breakaway riders move

Riders on the course ahead of the peloton move first, in race order — the leader first. A rider who has broken away is placed on the course and from then on moves by their own type and quality.

• Only one cyclist per square. You may not ride through an occupied square unless there is no other way (see blocked road).
• When a rider ends a move level with another, the one who arrived moves first next turn: put them slightly ahead to show it. This matters in sprints.

Free movement

Each move starts with free squares. Their number depends on the rider type and on the terrain of the square where the move starts:

Add +1 for a descender starting downhill, +1 for a sprinter starting in a sprint zone, and +1 for slipstreaming.

Paying movement

After the free squares, a rider may ride extra squares, paid at once from their energy:

Allowed moves

Riders move only straight ahead or diagonally forward. They may not stand still or step sideways — except on a bend, where a sideways square that ends further ahead is allowed.

Blocked road

When every square across the road is taken, a rider may ride through occupied squares. They must take the longest path and pay 1 extra energy for each occupied square crossed.

Caught by the peloton

Compare the front of the peloton with the front of the rider:

• if the peloton draws level with a breakaway rider, the rider rejoins the front of the peloton tile;
• if it passes the rider, the rider rejoins the back.

Energy recovery

Feed zone. When a cyclist passes a feed zone token — in a breakaway or in the peloton — their player draws a feed zone tile of the rider’s colour: green for a rouleur, yellow for a leader, red for a climber. It is worth 2 to 5 energy. Add it at once, or keep it face down and add it later (recommended). A tile you forget to draw is lost once the next cyclist has moved, even if that cyclist is yours.

Unused free squares. A rider who moves fewer squares than their free total (base + slipstream + quality) gets back 1 energy per unused free square at once.

Breaking away

Starting with the team second in the support-rider order, then third, fourth and finally first, each player may send one or more of their cyclists out of the peloton.

• Only cyclists in the front of the peloton may break away; from the back, never.
• A breakaway move is at least 4 squares. From then on the rider moves with their own type and quality.
• The rulebook’s figures show the first squares a breakaway may reach straight ahead and on a bend: count them from the front of the peloton.
• Breaking away from flatland, the rider has the free squares of their type on flatland (3 rouleur, 2 leader, 1 climber) and pays for the rest.

Moving inside the peloton

Now riders still in the peloton may change place:

• from the back: stay, move to the front, or drop off the back on purpose — for instance to help a team-mate in trouble back into the peloton;
• from the front: stay, or move to the back.

Pursuit and peloton movement

Pursuit

Each team’s support riders start with 6 pursuits (right-hand column of the energy table). A pursuit speeds the peloton up.

• Starting with the first support-rider token, players say in turn whether they accelerate the peloton. The first who does moves their token to first place; the others shift down.
• That team crosses off 1 pursuit. Only one team pursues per turn.
• A team may not accelerate more than 2 times in a row.
• If nobody accelerates, the order does not change.

Peloton movement

The peloton covers 2 squares lengthways and moves along the dotted squares where the road has them.

1. The team leading the peloton rolls the peloton die (values 3, 4 and 5). The peloton moves that many squares.
2. +1 square if a pursuit was declared.
3. +1 square if no cyclist is left in the peloton.

Then every cyclist in the peloton pays energy by position:

• If the peloton’s move starts on a mountain square, every rouleur in the peloton pays 1 more.
• The peloton never risks a fall on treacherous squares.
• A rider who cannot pay is dropped.
• If the die shows the red face, check for punctures.

Dropped riders

A rider is dropped if they cannot pay for the peloton’s move, if they puncture, or if they choose to drop back.

• After the peloton has moved, put the rider on the square just behind it. From the next turn they move after the peloton, by their own type and quality, like a breakaway rider.
• Dropped riders move in race order, as step 5 of every turn.
• They never get slipstream from the peloton.