Team GB dumped out of men’s team pursuit after Danish rider crashes into Brit following cheating row – then victorious Dane shouts ‘f*** them’ on camera as tempers reach boiling point
- The men’s cycling team pursuit was stopped after a bizarre on-track crash
- Denmark’s Frederik Madsen bizarrely ploughed into Team GB’s Charlie Tanfield
- Tanfield, who replaced Ed Clancy, fell behind his team-mates in the race
- Madsen, who wasn’t looking where he was going, crashed into Tanfield
- Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here
Great Britain have been dumped out of the men’s team pursuit in controversial fashion after Danish rider Frederik Madsen ploughed into the back of Team GB’s Charlie Tanfield before screaming ‘f*** them’ at the British team following the two nations’ cheating row.
Tanfield, the late replacement for Ed Clancy, had been left behind by his British team-mates and was riding alone – still in the race – when he was hit from behind by Madsen.
A furious Madsen, who wasn’t looking where he was going as the lead rider, then jumped to his feet and exchanged words with Tanfield before being caught on camera screaming ‘f*** them’ as he walked back to his team.
Denmark’s Frederik Madsen (top) bizarrely ploughed into Team GB’s Charlie Tanfield (bottom)
Madsen (right), who wasn’t looking where he was going, crashed into the back of Tanfield
The crash meant that Team GB were dumped out of the running for the gold medal, with Denmark advancing as Tanfield was caught.
The incident comes hours after Team GB called for Denmark to be kicked out of the men’s team pursuit.
The Danes broke the Olympic record in qualifying on Monday but teams, including Great Britain, complained about the shin tape and undervests they were wearing, believing them to be illegal.
Cycling’s rule makers, the UCI, banned Denmark from wearing the tape and vests for the race with Team GB for a place in the gold medal race.
However, despite the UCI admitting they have breached regulations, they only issued the Danes with a warning, not a disqualification.
Madsen confronts Tanfield before the Dane can be heard screaming ‘f*** them’ shortly after
Tanfield was a last-minute addition to the Team GB event after three-time gold medallist Ed Clancy pulled out after aggravating his back on Tuesday
Furious British Cycling performance director Stephen Park said: ‘Do I think they should be disqualified? I don’t think there is any alternative. The rules are clear. It says you cannot apply something to the skin. They have applied something to the skin.
‘It says in the specific rule that if you break that rule, your option is for being eliminated or disqualified, so they have no option. There is no doubt in anyone else’s mind that it is deliberate.’
Park has not ruled out submitting a further legal challenge after they have raced against Denmark today.
He said: ‘We will have to consider whether there is any further action that we need to take, if we believe, when our legal advisers have looked at the documents, that the UCI just haven’t followed their own rules or not.’
There was further intrigue about the undervests worn by Denmark, which rules state must be available to buy publicly at the start of the Olympic year.
Denmark broke the Olympic record while wearing shin tape and undervests (pictured above) to give them an aerodynamic advantage in qualifying on Monday for the men’s team pursuit
GB appealed about Denmark’s kit overnight and the UCI agreed it breached regulations
Gold medal winner Chris Boardman questioned the validity of Denmark’s kit on Monday
Yet some users online did not agree with Boardman, pointing towards GB’s superior finances
Team GB claim that the website selling the undervest was updated in the last 24 hours to make it appear that it was for sale earlier than it was.
‘There was some debate over whether or not they did or didn’t need to be registered,’ added Park.
‘The relevance of that was whether it was for aerodynamic gain or not and whether it was available for sale.
‘Unfortunately to the first point, the item in question, which is a HUUB garment, is actually advertised as an aerodynamic undervest, so there can be little doubt as to whether or not it is there for aerodynamic purposes or not.
The Danish team were given a warning yet were not disqualified by cycling’s governing body
‘There is also a question because none of the teams believe it was for sale on January 1, particularly as a number of teams have researched into the source code of the website and found that it was actually published in May.
‘The information relating to the kit being available on January 1 was only added in the last 24 hours.’
More to follow
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