Nobody on Cycle Chat has answered so let’s see what the STW collective brain can come up with.

In a big race like the TDF and most notably the Paris-Roubaix the Mavic Libre Service car or motorbike and even individuals by the road, give wheels to riders who have punctured.

How do the wheels find their way back to the owners after the race? Presumably the givers will ensure they’ve got roughly the right cassettes fitted? Mavic, I can understand but what’s in it for the private wheel givers?

How do the wheels find their way back to the owners after the race? Presumably the givers will ensure they’ve got roughly the right cassettes fitted? Mavic, I can understand but what’s in it for the private wheel givers?

The ‘private’ wheel givers are strategically placed team mechanics. Easy enough for mechanics to go to neutral service at the end of the day and say “you’ve got our Zipp wheel – yeah, that one”. Non issue.