Paris Olympics 2024: Australian cyclist narrowly avoids carnage in nasty crash at velodrome
An Australian cyclist has narrowly avoided being involved in a nasty crash on the finish line of the women’s track cycling keirin quarterfinals at the Olympic Games in Paris.
In a tense final lap at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, three riders — Steffie van der Peet of the Netherlands, Belgium’s Nicky Degrendele and China’s Yuan Liying— came together and collided as the race came to a head.
The pile-up started with Liying trying to get past van der Peet up into the fourth and final qualifying spot but she was only able to cause a collision between the pair, with Degrendele brought down in the ensuing carnage.
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Shards of shattered bikes were scattered all over the track, with action delayed at the velodrome as officials cleaned up the mess and patched the surface.
van der Peet and Dengrendele were able to get off the track under their own steam but Liying stayed down longer, eventually being helped away by two coaches.
Australia’s Kristina Clonan narrowly avoided being caught up in the crash but will not progress after finishing sixth.
