THE favourite to win gold in the Men's cross-country mountain bike race crashed after a ramp was allegedly removed from the course.
And Team GB's Tim Pidcock took full advantage – racing past and claiming victory.
Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel suffered a heavy fall off the Sakura Drop feature after misjudging the landing.
Van der Poel, 26, had expected there to be a ramp for him to take, as it was apparently there during training.
But instead he plummeted over the sheer drop, flew over his handlebars and landed hard on his back.
Team-mate Milan Vader explained that Van der Poel expected to descend the ramp, telling Dutch media AD Sportwereld: "I think MvdP wanted to roll off the drop but ramp wasn’t there. He should have known.
"It might be harsh to say but we talked about this during lunch. Mathieu said 'Gosh everyone is jumping there', I asked, won’t you? And he said ‘no, I will roll down that ramp’.
After the event Van der Poel revealed his surprise at the ramp being removed. He tweeted: "I didn’t know. The ramp was there during the recon. I only heard they removed it during the test event."
And when asked if he was told the ramp was removed before the start, Van der Poel said: "No I didn't know anything. Currently in hospital for pictures. Too much trouble to finish."
The talented rider did well to get back on his bike after nursing his injuries for a minute on the ground.
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But he was unable to continue and quit in lap five, before being taken to hospital to undergo checks on an injured hip.
Team GB's Pidcock, 21, took advantage, narrowly avoiding the fallen Van der Poel before going on to win gold.
It was a very disappointing end for Van der Poel, who quit the Tour de France early to concentrate on his preparation for the Olympics.
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