My experience with pace lines is different. The people who are leading should peel off - moving to the left - slow down & let the pace line go by them - then catch the rear. Normally, it is decided how long somebody should lead, e.g., 3 minutes. That way, everybody takes their turn up front. If somebody is toast, they don't lead & instead they peel off right away.

Etiquette is not blasting ahead when you're leading. Remember that the ex-leader is tired and is trying to catch the rear wheel. People who leave the leader gasping off the back are rude.

In a double pace line, the left person moves left & the right person moves right. It really a pretty cool thing. I used to ride with about 10 other women & we had it down pat.

In this way, the pace line continues at a good clip and nobody is absolutely ruined by the end of the ride.