While animals are often seen dotted in the fields along the roadside of international cycling races, it’s quite rare for them to join in the actual event - as this pony did when following riders on the Tour de Pologne, which is held annually in Poland.
A video which appeared on the Gazprom–RusVelo cycling team’s Facebook page shows a pony which appears to have run away from its owners joining the final stage of the bicycle race which took place from July 29 to August 4.
At the end of the video one of the Gazprom–RusVelo racers, Roman Maikin, tricks the animal by splashing some water from his bottle and pretending to make a left turn, while the riders were heading right.
The final stage of the Tour de Pologne, consisting of 189km, finished in the resort town of Zakopane.