The mountain bike from the early 1980s - with a back carrier, bolted on wheels, fat tyres and straight handlebars - used for the summit finish at the Tour of the Gila.
The season was only a few days old when we brought you news of US rider Tyler Farrar grabbing a fan’s bike and shoes to finish a stage of the Tour Down Under when his bike broke down and his team car was gone ahead.
And now something similar has happened again; this time in a pro race in the United States.
However, while Farrar was able to get a proper racing bike with pedals that clipped into the shoes he also borrowed, US rider Zack Allison had to do it the hard way.
The only bike available to him in his moment of need was a mountain bike from the 1980s, with a carrier fitted on the back, straight handlebars and civilian pedals.
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But he still made it to the finish of stage 1 of the Tour of the Gila last week in Silver City, New Mexico, within the time cut.
And he even passed a few riders who had gone too hard too soon on the summit finish.
One of the more unusual photos you'll see from a photo finish camera; Allison makes it all the way well inside the time cut.
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Allison, a 26-year-old riding for Elevate Pro Cycling, had been in the early breakaway on the 92 mile stage.
But he later became the victim of a massive crash. And while he battled on, his derailleur packed in half way up the finishing climb.
And with his team car a long way back the road, Allison was worried he would miss the time cut and be out of the race on the opening stage.
And so when he saw a fan coming down the climb on an early 1980s Specialized Stumpjumper, there was only one thing for it.
He asked the fan if he could use the bike to climb the final ascent – the 4,000ft Mogollon – so he could stay in the race.
The fan, who had been enjoying the race by the roadside, said he'd be honoured if his bike was used by a pro on such a big race.
And so he handed it over quickly, with Allison leaving his own bike as collateral.
Allison recalled: “He said, ‘Oh yeah, sure thing! I’d be honored!’ so he took his bottles off and I put my bottles on like it was a normal bike exchange.”
He adjusted the saddle height and though he was suffering with road rash from the earlier spill, he jumped onto the bike – in its fourth decade – and off he went, easily making the time cut.
“(The officials) thought I’d found that old bike and was jokingly crossing the line again,” Allison explained.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I had a bike change, it’s not against the rules!' Maybe there’s some UCI rule about the wheel size, but they didn’t penalise me.”
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