The track cycling programme at the Olympics slowly wound down on Saturday, with only one medal on offer ahead of the final day of competition on Sunday.
That medal was to be won in the men's Madison final, with 15 countries competing for gold in the velodrome in Paris.
As with many of the Olympic cycling events, the format of the Madison could be confusing to novices of the sport. The 50km relay race sees each country race in pairs, with riders swapping in and out to rest between legs.
The nitty-gritty of the event's rules are head-melting to read but the gist of it sees the pairs competing for points across a mixture of relay racing and sprint laps. The team with the most points at the end of the event is awarded the gold medal.
There was drama early on Saturday for Team GB, with Ethan Hayter pulling out due to a hamstring strain and Mark Stewart subbing in to partner Ollie Wood.
With 40 laps to go of the gruelling 200-lap race, Wood was involved in a shocking altercation with Dutch rider Jan-Willem van Schip, who appeared to nudge Wood flying off his bike.
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Olympic cycling: Dutchman appears to cause crash during Madison final
Van Schip appeared to come down hard to squeeze Wood to the inside of the curve, before moving his shoulder and head towards the Brit.
Harsh contact was made with Wood's head, with the British rider sent off his bike and sliding across the track in the middle of a busy field.
🔥🇫🇷 | Wat gebeurt hier dan? Jan-Willem van Schip kegelt een Brit tegen de grond... 🥴🇳🇱 #Paris2024 #trackcycling
📺 Stream Paris 2024 op HBO Max pic.twitter.com/CxnOJnuGYb— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) August 10, 2024
The British pair's hopes were significantly dented by the incident, with Wood and Stewart ultimately finishing in 10th place. The Dutch pair of van Schipp and Yoeri Havik would finish three spots ahead of the Brits, with Portugal taking gold.
Speaking to the Telegraph after the race, Wood revealed that he had felt contact on his lower body before the head contact, and that he was not sure whether van Schipp had used his shoulder or head. Wood also confirmed he had a baldy swollen knee after the crash.
His Dutch rival came in for heavy criticism for what appeared to be a damning motion towards Wood.
British cycling legend Chris Hoy was fuming, saying that Wood would be lucky to avoid a concussion.
It was clearly van Schip’s error there. You are trying to skim past the rider and not go too far on the bend but he misjudged it.
He absolutely whacked him on the head. I would not be surprised if he is concussed from that.
He would not be expecting it either. His body would be loose and completely relaxed and then out of nowhere getting a massive hit. I really felt for him there.
Team GB chose not to protest the incident, with van Schipp facing no punishment for his role in bringing Wood down.
There are several track cycling medals to be won on the final day of the Olympics on Sunday.
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