Amateur racer deftly avoids tumbling off bridge in California race - Video

Mike Allec is an early contender for save of the year after narrowly avoiding falling off a bridge at the Santa Barbara Road Race this weekend.

Multiple bike cameras caught video of a mid-pack crash that could have resulted in a long fall for Allec, who rides for and manages the Carefast/Storck Cycling Team, according to their Facebook page.

The footage shows a pileup of riders hitting the deck one-by-one, with Allec a late victim after several others went down in front of him. An attempted evasive action towards the side of the road proved fruitless, setting him up to nearly tumble over the edge of the rail as he hit the pileup. Instead, thanks to impressive reflexes, Allec managed to hang on to the rail, leaving him dangling over the edge with a 10 meter drop to the ravine below.

"We are very thankful for the outpouring support from many who were there and more importantly those that helped him off of the bridge," the team said via its Facebook page.

"Words cannot express the gratitude for him being able to walk away from this with road rash, this could have ended much much worse."

Allec's ride was not so lucky. The bike went over the edge of the rail and took a long fall to the creek bed below.