Richie Porte hails Simon Clarke's "great sportsmanship" - and says breaking rules didn't enter his head

Team Sky’s Richie Porte says his friend Simon Clarke of Orica-GreenEdge displayed “really great sportsmanship” when he gave him his front wheel after a puncture at the Giro d’Italia yesterday – and that it didn’t enter his mind he had broken any rules, with his priority being to get back to the peloton as soon as possible.

Porte started Stage 10 to Forli third on the general classification, 22 seconds behind race leader Alberto Contador – but ended up 3 minutes 9 seconds down on the Spaniard as he slid to 12th overall following his late puncture, which came as the peloton tried in vain to chase down the day’s break.

The Australian lost 47 seconds on the road despite a desperate attempt to chase back on, but worse was to come as race commissaires imposed a 2-minute penalty on him, and a 200 Swiss Franc fine.

He – and Clarke – had been found guilty of breaking UCI rule 2.3.012 which governs the 'Rights and Duties of Riders' and says:

All riders may render each other such minor services as lending or exchanging food, drink, spanners or accessories.

The lending or exchanging of tubular tyres or bicycles and waiting for a rider who has been dropped or involved in an accident shall be permitted only amongst riders of the same team. The pushing of a rider by another shall in all cases be forbidden, on pain of disqualification.

Speaking to the Team Sky website before the start of today’s Stage 11 to Imola, Porte recounted what happened.

“The peloton was going super-fast to try and catch the breakaway and get ready for a bunch sprint, and I picked up a front wheel puncture as we were going around a roundabout,” he explained.

“I'd gone around it on the left but my team-mates went around the other side. I stopped, and by the time the guys had got back to me Simon had already stopped and offered me his wheel.”

Describing the incident as something that happened on the spur of the moment, Porte went on: “Alberto [Contador] summed it up last night – all you are thinking about when something like that happens is 'how can I make sure I lose the least time possible.’

“I didn't even give it a thought that it might be breaking the rules. Everything was happening so quickly and I was just acting on adrenaline.”

Clarke – also fined 200 Swiss Francs and given a two-minute penalty – said on Twitter yesterday evening that he was “feeling sad” for Porte, adding: “Tried to help a friend as most would. I'm sorry about the outcome of all this!”

Porte, for his part, applauded Clarke for helping him out.

“It was amazing – really great sportsmanship. For a fellow pro from another team to help out like that – I think it shows cycling at its best. 

“The sport has made a lot of pretty bad headlines over the years and this was a pretty special moment. Simon is a friend and he showed it yesterday for sure.”

Nevertheless, the assistance was against the rules, even if that did not occur to either rider in the heat of the moment, and while he described the penalty as “frustrating,” he added “there is no point moaning or complaining.”

He continued: “I have to suck it up and we have to look forward as a team. It has been great to get so much support overnight. That means a lot.

The Team Sky rider added that he is determined to recover the time he lost.

"No-one should doubt how much I still want to win this race.

“There are still two weeks to go. It has been a great Giro so far. There is still a lot of racing ahead, some tough stages and this has really fired the whole team up to try to get the time back.”