After big crash at the Tour Down Under, Farrar finishes stage 3 after borrowing fan’s bike, shoes

During stage 3 of the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia, one of the day’s heroes came from an unexpected place, and that place was nowhere among the ranks of the riders themselves. Instead, it was among the fans. And that fan’s actions, reports say, nearly cost a rider his place in the Tour.

The cyclist in question was American sprinter Tyler Farrar, riding for team Dimension Data.

Just before the notorious Corkscrew climb, the stage’s main, punishing obstacle, a crash took down several riders at a stretch where speeds neared 70 km/h, including Farrar. Luckily, the athlete was banged up at worst, taking several scrapes in the crash but escaping anything serious. After checking him over, team mechanics gave him the go-ahead and the race was on again for Farrar—at least until a few kilometres down the road.

There, he noticed that his derailleur had been severely mangled in the crash. His bike shot, without any neutral support vehicles in the area, it looked like the race was over for Farrar.

That’s where the fan came in.

At first, the fan told the Advertiser, it looked like it may have just been the wheels that were the issue. “We could see him on the side of the road, the 42-year-old fan, Anthony Tooman, told reporters, “and asked, ‘do you need a wheel?’ and he said ‘nah, a wheel is not going to cut it.’ Then it went to ‘well, what pedals are you running?'”

Comparing gear, Tooman figured that the stricken American cyclist “might as well just take everything.” That also, he said, included the fan’s shoes. The two riders were using two different kinds of cleats.

A big thanks to the spectator who lent Tyler Farrar his bike today. Tyler would be out of the @tourdownunder if it weren’t for you mate! 😉

— Team Dimension Data (@TeamDiData) January 21, 2016

Taking Tooman’s bike and speeding off, though, able to continue the race, wasn’t the end of the matter for the Dimension Data sprinter. UCI rules state that assistance can only be provided in such situations by teammates or by neutral support. Still, given Farrar’s position in the bunch—he finished 13 minutes down, well out of GC contention for the stage—UCI officials chose to make an exception in his case, meaning he’ll be starting at stage 4 after all.

“Race officials have confirmed that Farrar will be allowed to continue the race as an exception to the rule,” the global cycling body said in a statement, “because a bad crash with several other riders involved created a hectic situation which meant neither his team car nor the event’s neutral service vehicle was in a position to provide assistance.”

“This ruling,” the UCI added, “respects the spirit of the sport and considers the rather exceptional circumstances in which this occurred.”

After the stage’s completion, Farrar, who insisted that Tooman be rewarded with team gear like an official jersey for his efforts, took him aside and told the spectator to find him at the finish. During the exchange, Tooman was impressed with how calm and clear-headed Farrar seemed, he told the Advertiser’s reporters, despite having suffered a major crash. “He was pretty open-minded to any solution,” he said. “He wasn’t fazed at all; it was not a big deal. I think if anything, he’s a very approachable, humble guy and the whole team are, I’d say.”

In wearing that team gear, Tooman will certainly have a story to share with anyone who asks.