Bradley Wiggins has been hailed as "le gentleman" after he neutralised the peloton on the 14th stage of the Tour de France following the sabotage of cyclists' tyres.
Thirty riders were affected when they incurred punctures en route to Foix, and Wiggins, who had already changed bikes due to a mechanical problem, noticed the issue and halted the race.
Tour etiquette dictates rivals do not take advantage of another rider's misfortune, and defending champion Cadel Evans was allowed to return to the group by race leader Wiggins, who was praised for his "fair play".
Sky Sports reported John Lelange, directeur sportif of Evans' BMC Racing team, to have said: "We came back with the whole group and Sky was really honest and didn't attack in the front.
"They were really fair. I went to (Team Sky sports director) Sean Yates at the end of the race to say I really appreciated it."
According to race official Jean-Francois Pescheux, "nails were mainly thrown on the ground around 200m from the summit".
Wiggins is bidding to become the first ever Englishman to win the tour, but insisted: "Nobody wants to benefit from someone else's misfortune."
The 30-year-old was himself hit by a flare on Saturday.