A cyclist from the Isle of Man taking part in the men’s road race at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday got a helping hand from a spectator, who lent him his bike following a crash so he could continue the race.
Sam Brand accepted the offer, although he subsequently abandoned the event. Won by Australia’s Steele von Hoff, with Jon Mould of Wales second and South Africa's Clint Hendricks third.
Speaking to Manx Radio after the race, the 27-year-old Brand, who is diabetic and rides for Team Novo Nordisk, said: “I met some guy up there and he switched bikes with me, some spectator.
“I need to go back up there and find my bike, hopefully.”
There have been a number of examples of riders borrowing bikes to be able to carry on racing, including Michael Rogers being offered one by a fan in the 2007 Tour Down Under. Rogers went on to finish second on that day’s stage.
The 2016 edition of the race saw a spectator who had travelled from New Zealand to Australia to watch the race lend his shoes and bike to Tyler Farrar after the American rider had a crash.
> Tyler Farrar borrows fan's shoes and bike to finish Tour Down Under stage
One of the most famous examples of a rider having to borrow a bike to avoid having to abandon a race happened in the 2010 Tour de France after Jens Voigt crashed on the descent of the Col de Peyresourde.
With his own bike smashed beyond repair and team car way up the road, the German rider declined an invitation to hop aboard the broom wagon, saying he wanted to reach Paris.
As a result, he rode the next 15 kilometres or so on a children’s bike way that was too small for him and with toe clips until he was able to pick up a team bike.
Born in Scotland, Simon moved to London aged seven and now lives in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds with his miniature schnauzer, Elodie. He fell in love with cycling one Saturday morning in 1994 while living in Italy when Milan-San Remo went past his front door. A daily cycle commuter in London back before riding to work started to boom, he's been news editor at road.cc since 2009. Handily for work, he speaks French and Italian. He doesn't get to ride his Colnago as often as he'd like, and freely admits he's much more adept at cooking than fettling with bikes.