The Netherlands have been disqualified from the men’s Olympic Madison final for behaviour “endangering another cyclist” after Britain’s Ollie Wood appeared to be headbutted amid tensions between the two nations at the velodrome.
A day after rugby on wheels, it was time for the bike, as relations between British and Dutch cyclists took another aggressive turn on Saturday.
The critical point came with 40 laps to go in Madison, when Team GB’s Ollie Wood was suddenly catapulted into a heavy crash after his helmet was struck from behind by that of Jan Willem van Schip.
Television replays did not allow us to conclude whether the contact was deliberate, although things looked bad inside the velodrome, as the collision left Woods lying on the boards.
He had to be assessed for concussion on the track before continuing the 50km race and eventually finishing 10th alongside Mark Stewart. The Dutchmen were later disqualified for “inappropriate conduct and behaviour endangering another runner (helmet strike)”.
Dutch cyclist Jan-Willem van Schip (top) looks to make contact with Britain’s Oliver Wood (bottom)
Britain’s Ollie Woods crashes to the ground after colliding with Dutch rival
Wood (pictured) was back on his bike in the men’s Madison final but appeared injured.
The incident came 24 hours after the Dutch accused Team GB’s Jack Carlin of “rugby on wheels” for a move in which he swerved across the track and collided with Dutchman Hoogland in the individual sprint. Dutch fans booed Carlin as he collected his bronze medal.
Naturally, the clash between Wood and Van Schip could be portrayed as retaliation, although the Briton admitted he had no idea how it happened.
After limping into the interview area with a badly swollen knee, he said: “He hit me so hard I felt like a crash test dummy.”
“I will survive. I didn’t see anything.”
Wood added: “It’s a bit different when you get hit from behind, you don’t see it coming. There are a lot of people resting and driving at the same time. Instead of taking a high line around the track, I thought I would cut it a bit thinner and just crash into myself.
‘I haven’t seen him again. I’m trying to catch my breath. I have no idea, absolutely none. All I know is that I was hit very hard from behind by the biggest driver on the track.
‘At one point, everyone’s cognitive functions started to decline rapidly; you could see that there were people who had problems concentrating. When there are people everywhere on the track, it’s inevitable that people will bump wheels or something.
‘I don’t know what I’ve done, but my knee hurts a lot and my butt hurts a lot.
“I feel like I’ve been hit from behind by a truck.”
Although the crash was dramatic, it had little apparent bearing on the pair’s medal chances, who were already well off the podium in the 200-lap chaos of the format. Portugal took gold, beating Italy and Denmark.
Six-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy, commentating for the BBC, blamed the Dutch for the collision, which saw Wood take the inside lane on his return lap and Van Schip try to pass him on the outside. Van Schip was initially given no warning and the British team made no protest, before the Dutch were ejected hours later.
“It was clearly a mistake by Van Schip,” said Hoy. “He was trying to get past the driver and not go over the line in the corner, but he misjudged the situation.”
Wood underwent a concussion check after the crash, which he said was like being put on a “crash test dummy.”
Wood competed in the ill-fated British men’s Madison final alongside teammate Mark Stewart.
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“He got hit in the head. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a concussion from that. He wasn’t expecting it either. His body would be relaxed and completely loose and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he’d get hit hard. I really felt for him.”
‘It’s literally a millimetre of Lycra and you’ve got a bit of polystyrene on your head and that’s it, and you’re travelling at over 60km/h. It’s a tough sport.
“We were talking about how often an elite endurance cyclist crashes. It would be about half a dozen times a year. Some of them are no big deal, but you slip and lose some skin, but you can also break a bone or get a concussion and it affects your whole season. It’s a tough sport.”
Laura Kenny added: “I was surprised, as Chris said, that he didn’t get a warning or points deducted. The men’s Madison is pretty much flat out. They would have been going full throttle at that point.”
Some have called the clash retaliation after the Dutch accused Jack Carlin of “rugby on wheels” for a move on Jeffrey Hoogland in the individual sprint.
Carlin, right, was booed by Dutch fans as he received his bronze medal on Friday.
Fans on social media criticised Van Schip and accused the Dutch rider of trying to headbutt Wood.
“What the hell was the Dutch driver doing on the Madison? He literally swerved and took out Ollie Wood for no reason,” one fan posted.
“Madison was a massacre, there were too many clashes, the Dutchman who tried hard to headbutt the Brit deserves a telling off. It was ridiculous. He changed his line so he could headbutt Oli Wood,” added another.
“That looked deliberate. It was a headbutt. That should be grounds for disqualification,” posted a third.
A fourth user commented: “It looked like an intentional headbutt and shoulder strike to the Brit, who was not in the race at the time.”
Van Schip made no comment on the incident and the Dutchman did not appear in the mixed zone after the race.
His teammate Yoeri Havik, speaking to Dutch media, blamed fatigue for the incident.
“I didn’t see it, but I think it was more fatigue,” Havik said.
“I think Jan-Willem was exhausted.”