Netherlands disqualified for ‘endangering another rider’ after Team GB’s Ollie Wood appeared to be HEADBUTTED by Dutch rival and crashed in men’s madison final

The Netherlands were disqualified from the final of the men’s Olympic team pursuit after a Dutch rider appeared to headbutt Team GB rider Ollie Wood.

The 28-year-old driver said he felt like a “crash test dummy” after crashing with Jan Willem van Schip during Saturday’s gruelling 200-lap race.

With only 39 laps to go, Wood suddenly crashed hard after Willem van Schip hit him on the helmet from behind.

It was unclear from television replays whether the contact was intentional, but it certainly looked ugly on the track: Woods was left sprawled on the boards as a result of the collision.

But the Dutch team have now been disqualified and Van Schip was fined CHF1,000 (£720) for “inappropriate behaviour and behaviour endangering another rider (banging the helmet),” the commissaires’ decision said.

The incident came 24 hours after Team GB’s Jack Carlin was accused of “rugby on wheels” by the Dutch for a manoeuvre in which he spun onto the track and collided with Dutchman Hoogland in the individual sprint. Dutch fans booed Carlin as he later collected his bronze medal.

Of course, the conflict between Wood and Van Schip could be seen as retaliation, although the Briton admitted he had no idea how it happened.

Woods later had to be examined trackside for a concussion before he could continue the 50 km race. He eventually finished tenth, tied with Mark Stewart. Stewart did not learn until the next morning that he would be making his Olympic debut, after Ethan Hayter withdrew due to injury.

Wood said he had not complained and that there was simply no point as the British team were far behind in the standings. They could not keep up with the attacks of Italy, Denmark and later Portugal – who won the first ever gold medal in track cycling with Iuri Leitao and Rio Oliveira.

After limping into the interview area with a badly swollen knee, he said, “He hit me so hard. I felt like a crash test dummy.

“I will survive. I saw nothing.”

Wood added: “It’s just a little bit different when you get hit from behind – you don’t see it coming. There’s a lot of people resting and riding at the same time. Instead of taking a high line around the track, I thought he was going to chop it up a bit and just plough into me.

“I haven’t watched it back. I’m trying to catch my breath. I have no idea, absolutely no idea. All I know is that I got hit really hard from behind by literally the biggest rider on the track.

‘Everyone’s cognitive functions started to decline rapidly at some point – you could see people concentrating. When there are people all over the track, it’s inevitable that people will bump wheels or something.

‘I don’t know what I did, but my knee and my butt really hurt.

“I feel like I’ve been hit from behind by a truck.”

While the crash was dramatic, it had little visible impact on the pair’s medal chances, as they were already well off the podium in the 200-lap chaos of the format. Portugal took gold from Italy and Denmark.

Six-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy, a commentator for the BBC, blamed the Dutch for the collision, with Wood taking the inside lane on his down-lap and Van Schip trying to pass him on the outside. Van Schip was initially given no warning and Team GB made no protest, before the Netherlands were kicked out hours later.

“It was clearly a mistake by Van Schip,” Hoy said. “You try to pass the rider and not go too far in the corner, but he misjudged it.

“He hit him right on the head. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a concussion from that. He wouldn’t expect it either. His body was limp and completely relaxed and then all of a sudden he got a huge blow. I really felt sorry for him.

‘It’s literally a millimeter of Lycra and you’ve got a bit of Styrofoam on your head and that’s it and you’re going over 40 mph. It’s a tough sport.

“We were just talking about how many times an elite endurance rider crashes, it would be half a dozen times a year. Sometimes it goes well, you slide and lose a bit of skin, but you can also break a bone or get a concussion and ruin your whole season. It’s a tough sport.”

Laura Kenny added: ‘I was surprised, like Chris said, that he didn’t get a warning or even have points taken off him. The men’s madison is pretty much full throttle. They would have been going full speed.’

Fans on social media reacted fiercely to Van Schip, accusing the Dutch rider of headbutting Wood.

“What the hell was that Dutch rider doing in the Madison? He literally swerved and took Ollie Wood with him,” one fan posted.

‘That Madison was a slaughter, too many crashes, the Dutchman who went out of his way to headbutt the Brit needs to be dealt with seriously, it was ridiculous, he changed his line so he could headbutt Oli Wood,’ added another.

“That looked intentional – it’s a headbutt. That should be disqualifying,” posted a third.

A fourth added: ‘It looked like a deliberate headbutt and shoulder push to the Brit who was not in the race at the time.’

Van Schip did not want to comment on the incident. The Dutchman did not appear in the mixed zone after the race.

His teammate Yoeri Havik indicated in an interview with Dutch media that fatigue was the cause of the incident.

“I didn’t see it, but I think it was more fatigue,” Havik said.

‘I think Jan-Willem was exhausted.’