Nice Britain’s hopes of success within the males’s Madison on the Paris Olympics have been knocked to the ground when Ollie Wooden was ‘rear-ended’ by one other rider – simply considered one of quite a lot of crashes in a chaotic race by which Portugal prevailed with a few impressed late performs.
The ultimate quarter of the 200-lap occasion was beset by spills, throwing the race into disarray as Italy, Spain, and Belgium all had riders hitting the pine at pace. However essentially the most dramatic incident noticed Wooden fully cleaned out by the Dutchman Jan-Willem van Schip.
The Dutch have been seeking to achieve a lap and Van Schip immediately rode into Wooden as he nudged down the banking on the high finish of the observe, making head-to-head contact and sending the British rider sprawling to the ground.
The Dutch have been retrospectively disqualified by the race jury, with Van Schip fined 1,000CHF (£900) for “improper conduct and behavior that endangers one other rider”.
Nice Britain had already began on the again foot given the withdrawal of Ethan Hayter resulting from a thigh pressure – Mark Stewart stepping in as his substitute – they usually have been nicely down the standings heading in direction of the enterprise finish of the race. However though Wooden was in a position to remount, their race was successfully over, as they misplaced a lap quickly after his return.
“I really feel like I’ve been rear-ended by a lorry,” Wooden instructed Discovery, though he didn’t appear to harbour any actual grudge.
“Everybody has gone so deep, Van Schip particularly – I’ve seen him go actual deep earlier than. He was clearly simply not trying and ploughed straight into me.”
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The crash occurred with 40 laps remaining, and triggered a spate of incidents by which the race descended into chaos. Quickly after, a Belgian rider hit the deck and despatched Spain’s Albert Torres flying over his handlebars throughout the observe. Spain had been very a lot within the race however Torres was not permitted to re-enter the observe, a lot to his exasperation.
A number of laps later, Simone Consonni went down after a botched hand-sling together with his Italian accomplice Elia Viviani. Italy, at that time, have been in gold medal place forward of Denmark, each groups having gained a lap with 120 to go. In bronze have been the Czech Republic who stole a lap with 50 to go. In the meantime, as if the race couldn’t get any extra unhinged, Austria, who had gained a lap inside the primary 15, proceeded to lose 4 and have been hooked from the race.
A surprising victory for Portugal within the males’s Madison
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
Portugal, although, got here from nowhere. The pairing of Rui Oliveira and Iúri Leitão rode the storm and managed to achieve a lap with 11 to go to haul themselves into silver medal place. Italy have been again on the observe and again in it, however with double factors obtainable for the ultimate dash on the ultimate lap, Portugal pounced once more. Leitão went from vary, was first to the road by a distance, and picked up 10 extra factors to make it 30 within the house of 11 laps.
That took them to 55, eight factors forward of the Italians, triggering surprised celebrations because the consequence was confirmed. Leitão tried to cease on the rails on the high of the observe to greet his household, earlier than awkwardly toppling over and sliding down the banking. It was that kind of race.
The Italians, in the meantime have been distraught, Viviani in floods of tears. The bronze medal went to Denmark on 41 factors whereas Britain ended up in tenth on -9.
“It was precisely what we anticipated,” mentioned Stewart. “We knew we’d exit and the gear would really feel small. We hoped the race would come to us, we rode kind of conservatively, however the race simply by no means slowed down.
“We regarded to latch onto groups taking a lap, we knew easy methods to execute it, however on the finish of the day we simply lacked what these high groups had right this moment, however that’s simply sport, isn’t it?”
Emma Finucane marches on in all-star Dash
The Madison was the one medal occasion of Saturday’s session, which additionally noticed motion within the ladies’s Particular person Dash and the boys’s Keirin.
Britain’s new sprinting sensation Emma Finucane, who has already gained gold within the Workforce Dash and bronze within the Keirin at these Video games, progressed calmly by way of the 1/8 finals and the quarterfinals to guide her place within the semifinals on Sunday.
The 21-year-old received the higher of Kristina Clonan (Australia) within the 1/8 last, earlier than taking out the Colombian Martha Bayona within the quarterfinal with obvious ease. With the quarterfinal a best-of-three affair, Finucane regarded poised and comfortably received the higher of her opponent to win 2-0, easing clear on each events and looking out like she had extra to offer.
Emma Finucane works her means round Martha Bayonne within the ladies’s Dash
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
She’ll be again in motion on Sunday, however her teammate Sophie Capewell is out. She beat New Zealand’s Shaane Fulton within the 1/8 finals however was nicely crushed by the Dutchwoman Hetty van de Wouw within the quarterfinal.
Van de Wouw had gained silver forward of Finucane within the Keirin, and the rider that beat them each that day, Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand) stays within the hunt within the Particular person Dash, seeing off the problem of Germany’s Emma Hinze. The fourth and last rider by way of to the semi-final was Hinze’s compatriot Leah Friedrich, who dispatched the defending Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) as all 4 quarterfinals have been gained in straight heats.
With Finucane successful the world title final yr forward of Friedrich and Andrews, it is a stellar forged, with Van de Wouw the shock bundle however clearly on music at these Video games. Finucane will sq. up towards Andrews in a mouth-watering semi-final on Sunday.
Brits and Dutch progress within the Keirin
Saturday’s session additionally noticed the primary spherical of the boys’s Keirin, which noticed the key favourites, together with the Dutch powerhouse Harrie Lavreysen, progress by way of to Sunday’s latter rounds.
British duo Jack Carlin and Hamish Turnbull are each safely by way of, though Turnbull did it the exhausting means, inserting fourth in his warmth earlier than coming by way of within the repechages. Carlin, in the meantime, was in the identical warmth as Lavreysen, ending second because the favorite – already a gold medallist within the Workforce Dash and Particular person Dash – ran away with it.
Lavreysen’s compatriot Jeffrey Hoogland additionally progressed, inserting second in his warmth behind Matthew Glaetzer as Australia’s hazard males each gained their heats, Matthew Richardson triumphing elsewhere.
Lavreysen in orange works his well past Carlin in navy
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
The Keirin motion noticed some unsavoury moments, too. Firstly, the veteran Malaysian rider Azizulhasni Awang was disqualified for nudging forward of the derny, a controversial determination given the variety of incidents which have gone unpunished this week.
Extra critically, there was a horror crash in a repechage for Trinidad & Tobago’s Kwesi Browne, who slid unconsciously down the observe earlier than the race was stopped for pressing medical consideration. Browne was stretchered out of the velodrome however fortuitously appeared to flee critical harm.
“He is wonderful. The medial workforce right here on the velodrome did a beautiful job in caring for him,” mentioned Trinidad & Tobago’s biking supervisor Rowena Williams. “They did some fast X-rays to verify there have been no damaged bones, no main accidents to his head. Kwesi is okay. He is strolling and speaking, so we wish to thank everybody for his or her help.”
