It’s not often that you can call on four professional cyclists, including a three-time world champion, to act as your own personal mechanics.
But that’s exactly what happened yesterday to Scottish cyclist Willie McColl, after he ran out of spare inner tubes while riding in Gran Canaria. McColl, who is currently on a cycling holiday on the island, was left stranded by the side of the road after puncturing for the third time during a “simple two-hour recovery ride”.
With no tubes of his own left, McColl was “dependent on the goodwill of passing cyclists,” he said.
“I signalled to a bunch of ‘young kids’, who without hesitation came to my aid, provided a tube and set about getting me going again.”
The “young kids” in question were Flanders and Roubaix winner Sagan, Alpecin-Fenix rider Michael Gogl, a Bora-Hansgrohe rider, and another unidentified TotalEnergies pro. Not a bad group to stumble upon when you’ve got a puncture.
The 63-year-old, initially oblivious to who his famous rescuers were, asked Gogl – sixth in Strade Bianche last year and clad in his new Alpecin squad’s kit – if “he was with the team”. Gogl replied: “Yes, and look – there’s Peter Sagan.”
“I didn’t recognise Sagan initially,” Willie told road.cc. “It was Michael who pointed him out. He looked much younger than I had thought.
“So there I was, a 63 year old Scot with a team of domestiques assisting me, all pros and possibly the most famous guy in cycling!
“I had trouble getting air into a tube. They all mucked in, tried different pumps, and concluded it was a faulty tube. A new tube then appeared, though I’m not sure from whom or who then replaced it for me.”
Willie told us that his new mechanics were “all dead friendly” and “very happy to chat away”. Sagan, who the Scotsman described as “quite bashful”, was also happy to pose for a few souvenir photographs.
When Willie thanked them for their assistance, one of the pros told him, “we’ve all been there”, before sending the grateful tourist on his way.
No wheelies were performed, unfortunately, though the famous training group did jump over a barrier which blocked the road to the town of Mogán due to a landslip. Well, it wouldn’t be Sagan without a bit of mischief and panache…
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
16 thoughts on “Peter Sagan comes to the aid of “flabbergasted” British cyclo-tourist in Gran Canaria”
Niiiiice.
Niiiiice.
Good gesture by the pros.
Good gesture by the pros.
(but does demonstrate the importance of carrying patches and/or a repair kit in addition to spare tubes)
…and also of finding &
…and also of finding & removing whatever is lodged in your tyre causing the puncture, maybe?
Yea but who hasn’t had
Yea but who hasn’t had sequential puncture before when you can’t find or forget to find the offending item?
though having it happen in GC
though having it happen in GC is far better than a dark wet winter night in the edgelands of London
Rite of passage
Rite of passage
Experience has taught me that
Experience has taught me that it’s thorns that are worse than glass for being difficult to find, even when you’ve run your fingers through the inside of the tyre. Since I started using gatorskins though I haven’t had anywhere near as much trouble (and sadly I am not on commission!)
hairyairey wrote:
Since I started using gatorskins though I haven’t had anywhere near as much trouble (and sadly I am not on commission!)— hairyaireyYou’re supposed to say “touch wood” to appease the p*nct*re gods. 😀
Fantastic that the guys
Fantastic that the guys stopped to help.
But …
What is going on with that wheel in the main image?
2 cassettes, eccentric rim … No wonder why he kept getting punctures 🙂
I thought exactly the same..
I thought exactly the same..
I’d guess they stitched
I’d guess they stitched together a couple of different photos?
Looks like the kind of thing
Looks like the kind of thing you tend to get in panorama mode (where it’s essentially taking lots of pictures and automatically stitching them together) – maybe they’d been taking pictures of the view and forgot to switch back to normal photo mode.
OMG I love this article.
OMG I love this article. Really uplifting during a crappy week of crap news.
Great story!
Great story!
No wheelies were performed –
No wheelies were performed – honestly, ?♂️
Great story. Pros know
Great story. Pros know roadside assistance comes back around. A couple of years ago I gave a training buddy (didn’t recognize him) of Jasper Philipsen a spare tube as they had run out.
I didn’t have to help them change it 😉