Actually, I think there are some people who are Freds on purpose, so it isn't necessarily an insult. It's almost the opposite of 'poseur,' the one with all the 'right' gear and clothing, but no ability to back it up.

And as for 'peloton,' it most generically just means 'group of people' in French. It was used for a pack of horses in a race before it was extended by analogy to a compact group of racers in motorcycle or bicycle races.

Since cycling is practically the national sport of France, it's not surprising that some of our cycling vocabulary is French in origin: échelon, dérailleur, vélodrome, tour de ____, pannier (Fr. panier), pédale (Latin-->Italian-->French-->English). I think that 'bidon' (water bottle) is used in English (as opposed to American).

VoilÃ*!