LOS ANGELES _ Minutes before the start of the race, Tom-Jelte Slagter is still fussing over his bicycle, adjusting the brake caliper on the rear wheel, searching for just the right setting.
The day ahead figures to be arduous, with many of the world's top riders facing a hilly, 97-mile course that sweeps inland from Ventura and ultimately scales the mountains above Santa Barbara.
"There will be 40 or 45 minutes of climbing," Slagter says of the finish. "If you go too fast in the beginning ... maybe you kill yourself before you're halfway."
Short and wiry, the Dutch cyclist is well-suited for such grueling conditions. His years of experience on the international circuit should also help.
But as he fine-tunes his bike and joins the rest of Team Dimension Data _ the seven professional cyclists dressed in white jerseys and bright green helmets _ there is one thing missing from his strategy for this early stage of the 2018 Amgen Tour of California.
Slagter does not plan on crossing the finish line in first place.
"I understand my role," he says.
The work of the "domestique" _ French for "servant" _ is cycling's answer to the basketball forward who devotes himself to fighting for rebounds or the football lineman who does the dirty work of protecting the quarterback.
Once the race begins, domestiques must attend to their designated lead rider for the day, acting as a wind block and pacesetter, a cheerleader and butler who drops back to the team car for fresh bottles of water.
Such thankless duty often leaves them spent and trailing the pack at the end.
"On television you cannot always see that very well," Slagter says. "But it's a real team sport and you cannot win without every individual doing his part."
