A roadside spectator who lent Tyler Farrar his bike and shoes so that the American sprinter could finish Tour Down Under stage three after a crash has been presented with a full set of riding kit by Team Dimension Data.
New Zealander Anthony Tooman had travelled to Australia to watch the opening WorldTour race of the 2016 season, when he witnessed Farrar struggling to get his bike to work after a crash.
Farrar attempted finish the stage on his damaged Cervelo team bike but found that it had a mechanical problem. With the road congested, Farrar found himself isolated from his team cars and without a functioning bike... until Tooman stepped in.
Not only did Tooman lend Farrar his De Rosa bike, but he also lent him his riding shoes as Farrar's own shoes were incompatible with Tooman's pedal system.
Team Dimension Data and Farrar both publicly thanks Tooman, and presented him with a jersey, shorts and cap as a gesture of their gratitude.
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Tooman posted a photo of the kit on Instagram, with the message: "@teamdidata above and beyond, appreciate the thought and efforts of Veit Hammer [Dimension Data PR); and yes it fits. Very positive experience. All the best for the future."
The team also posted a photo of Farrar with Tooman after the stage, as the spectator arrived to pick up his bike.
Farrar wrote on his blog on the Peleton Brief: "I couldn’t stop saying thank you over and over again. He saved my tour. I really didn’t want to come to Australia to do 2.5 days of racing. It’s a pretty cool look into how nice people in Australia are.
"He’s gonna love his new Strava record on corkscrew now. Thanks man!"
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Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
