Team GB accept silver in males’s staff pursuit in opposition to Australia
- Ethan Hayter fell of his saddle in the final lap to leave GB painfully short of rivals
- Great Britain went into race as underdogs after opponents broke world record
- Italy scooped up a deserved bronze after an assured display against Denmark
Team GB have had to settle for silver in the men’s team pursuit after a dramatic incident on the final lap saw them lose to favourites Australia at the velodrome this afternoon.
The result meant that Great Britain have secured their fourth medal in cycling of the Paris Olympics and their 1000th medal in Olympic history but they were left pondering what might have been.
The team of Ethan Hayter, Dan Bigham, Charlie Tanfield and Ethan Vernon went into the final against Australia as underdogs after their opponents broke the world record in the earlier stages of the competition yesterday.
Bigham was a late replacement for Ollie Wood after missing out on the first round on Tuesday.
And the Brits started off strongly in the 16-lap contest, matching their rivals’ pace i the opening few laps.
Team GB have had to settle for silver in the men’s team pursuit
A dramatic incident on the final lap saw Ethan Hayter (centre) fall of his saddle
Australia went in as favourites and duly scooped up gold after an exciting race
As the race went on, Team GB remained within two-hundredths of a second of the Australians and looked set to take the contest right down to the wire.
The final was set for a grandstand finish as the bell rang for the final 250-metre lap with GB just 0.168 secs behind their opponents.
But, at the death, disaster struck as Hayter appeared to suffer a broken saddle, leaving him clinging onto the handlebars in great discomfort in order to cross the finish line safely on his bike.
Australia won the race with an impressive time of 3mins and 42.067secs while Team GB posted their fastest time of the meet.
Once the dust had settled, it emerged that the Team GB rider had simply fallen off the seat after leaning too heavily on the front of the bike throughout the race.
As the incident unfolded, Hayter also appeared to touch wheels with a teammate at a speed of around 45mph, making it somewhat of a miracle that the cyclists stayed on.
He later told the BBC: ‘I just gave too much and my whole body got weak and I couldn’t hold myself on the bike.
‘I don’t know how I stayed on.
Hayter finished the race in an incredibly uncomfortable position as he fell of his seat
The team of Ethan Hayter, Dan Bigham, Charlie Tanfield and Ethan Vernon went into the final against Australia as underdogs
Hayter later told the BBC : ‘I just gave too much and my whole body got weak and I couldn’t hold myself on the bike’
As the race went on, Team GB remained within two-hundredths of a second of the Australians
Italy meanwhile were worthy winners of the bronze medal after an assured performance against Denmark
‘I’m proud of the silver medal but it was there for the taking and we just came up short in the end and it was a shame.
‘We were so close and I could see it.
‘Sorry to the guys but I think we gave everything and we can be proud of that silver medal.’
Bigham added: ‘We rode the fastest ride we have ever done on every ride. We were in the best form and the best kit, and literally we all gave it everything.
‘It was scrappy because you are on the limit. You are riding quicker than you have ever ridden before and as Ethan said we probably gave it that little bit too much.
‘We are really leaning on him at the moment because he is anchoring the team and he has the legs to do it.
‘At the end of the day Ethan is still human and it is on us to make sure we deliver him in that best place and we maybe gave him a bit too much work to do there.’
Italy meanwhile were worthy winners of the bronze medal after an assured performance against Denmark.
Hayter was left distraught after he fell of his saddle in the last lap of the final against Australia
Hayter added: ‘Sorry to the guys but I think we gave everything and we can be proud of that silver medal’
Team GB’s gold was the country’s 1000th medal in the history of the Olympics
But the four riders will be left pondering what might have been after a chaotic finale
Victoria Pendleton, former gold medallist for Great Britain, said: ‘You see these guys, they perch right of the tip of their saddle when they are giving it 100 per cent and if you do slide forward, it is very difficult to get back on.
‘Maybe the clip of wheel nudged him off and then he gets stuck.
‘He lost his balance for a few revolutions and that meant that he didn’t have the ability to just throw his weight back and get back on the saddle.’
