Incredibly cruel luck, there's a bit more here:
https://bikepacking.com/news/angus-young-stage-4-gbduro-freehub-failure/
It does seem to be a harsh decision, especially in light of this passage from the above article:
"The rules are slightly nebulous as many ultra-endurance race events require any support to be āunplannedā or āfrom commercially available sources.ā GBduroās own race manual states that no support, āfrom other riders or friends/family or make bookings in advance of the ride; all food, repairs, etc, must be acquired from commercial sources or from the kindness of strangers.ā In my opinion, the latter
kindness of strangers statement seems to theoretically legitimize it, but organizers are reviewing the facts and will make a decision regarding the legality of a bike swap shortly.
It looks like Jaimi Wilson has grabbed third though, which is fantastic.
Massive respect to everyone who took part this year, it really has been a tough event.