- Cyclist Woods appeared to suffer a headbutt, forcing him to land on the Paris velodrome
British cyclist Ollie Woods was involved in a horrific crash in the final of the men’s madison after appearing to be headbutted by a Dutch rival.
Woods was thrown across the floor of the Velodrome with a thud and remained on the deck for a while, appearing to be in serious pain.
Dutch rider Jan-Willem van Schip ended up next to Wood when he tried to pass the Brit on his flank. However, fans who watched the incident are convinced that the contact was deliberate.
A fan posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘That wasn’t an accident, that was intentional, he should be disqualified for that, he could have caused serious damage at that speed’.
Another added: ‘Surely that was a deliberate headbutt?!’
Britain’s Ollie Woods ends up on the cycling deck after a collision with a Dutch opponent
Wood (pictured) got back on his bike in the men’s Madison final but appeared to be injured
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Sir Chris Hoy weighed in on the incident, saying: ‘He hit him on the head. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ollie got a concussion from that.
“He wasn’t expecting it, so his body would have been loose and relaxed.”
Team GB dropped to tenth place in the final of the men’s madison at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines cycling stadium in Paris.
Wood’s crash undoubtedly disrupted Britain’s efforts during the race, which was marked by chaotic and unpredictable manoeuvres from cyclists in all teams.
It wasn’t even the worst crash of the race, by the way. Spaniard Albert Torres was the victim of a shocking collision with Belgian rider Fabio Van den Bossche.
A total of four crashes occurred in the remaining 20 laps of the race, which was eventually won by Portugal with 55 points.
Italy followed in second place, taking silver, closely followed by the Danish riders, who took bronze.
Both British riders will be disappointed not to have won a medal, but Wood will be pleased to not only leave Paris in one piece but also with a silver medal, having finished second in the team pursuit on Wednesday.