How to use helpers?

[wheelnut]

How useful are helpers and given the fitness hits, is it worth putting them on 100% or just stick with 70%?

Also value of four helpers for a GC rider? Sometimes want to save fitness and leadership points so don’t alwYs have the full four helpers.

Another point, there skills in reference to the terrain type of the race or stage, how important is it to get specific helpers for a race e.g a high mountain skill for a mountainous stage?

[Poekie]

Not sure, but I think putting them on 100% is only useful in a sprint race.

[naspa]

Depends indeed on the race. Helpers do make pace in the peloton if you have a sprinter or GC man selected. Of course you should look at the terrain types there. A young rider without much mountain, will drop off straight away in a mountain race.
Helpers will bring team mates back to the peloton in case of flat tires or falls.
Helpers do a lead out to sprinters increasing sprint chances.
Like Poekie wrote, setting (4) helpers 100% effort, is only to be done if you have good sprinter that had severe competition. In some rare cased you can win GCs with this if last race is a sprint.

The broken thing with helpers is that in this game you never see them catching back a group that was escaping.
Maybe it is because how we play the game, letting strong riders attack straight away and it could be different if somehow we all would play more GC-helpers options.
But most likely we exploit the game the way how it was designed.