Tokyo 2020 – 'Not seen anything like it!' – Denmark crash into GB's Charlie Tanfield in shocking incident

ByBen Snowball

Updated 03/08/2021 at 11:05 GMT

"He [Madsen] was gesticulating a lot while they were lying on the floor as if it was Harry’s fault. It wasn’t his fault at all," said Eurosport expert Bradley Wiggins after another big crash in the velodrome. It remains to be seen whether Denmark, Team GB or neither will be in the final against world-record crushing Italy. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+

Denmark and Team GB’s face-off in the men's team pursuit came to a calamitous end when the Danes lead rider Frederik Madsen inexplicably crashed into Britain’s Charlie Tanfield.

The Danes were on course for a resounding victory that would have propelled them into the gold medal race at Tokyo 2020 when the disaster struck.

Unaware that Tanfield had slipped off the Team GB train and was riding solo with a lap remaining, Madsen ploughed straight into him, sending them both crashing down to the track.

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With both teams now down to two riders, the race was effectively over – with times in the team pursuit taken from the third rider to cross the finish line.

Madsen was pictured screaming at Tanfield as he lay on the inside track before storming off and shoving a TV camera, but Eurosport expert Bradley Wiggins insisted the blame lay with the Danes.

• Team GB suffer big crash just seconds after breaking team pursuit world record
• 'Absolutely gutted' - Clancy retires after withdrawing from team pursuit

'It wasn't his fault at all'

“Woah, I’ve not seen anything like it,” said Wiggins. “Charlie Tanfield was the third rider of our team. We had lost a rider well before that and we were down to three.

“Now he’s come off the back and he has to continue, he has no option. He can’t swing up the track, he has to continue to register a time.

'Oh no!' - GB team crash celebrating seconds after breaking world record

“And the Dane coming round had his head down and wasn’t watching where he was going, you should always keep some eye contact with the track.

“He [Madsen] was gesticulating a lot while they were lying on the floor as if it was Harry’s fault. It wasn’t his fault at all. He assumed as he was a lone rider, he should have been up the track and out the race. But that wasn't the case. It's a shame.”

Tanfield was only drafted into the GB team at the eleventh hour after Ed Clancy ended his Olympic career after the recurrence of a persistent back injury.

Italy blew apart the world record in their match to reach the gold medal race and, after protests from both teams, Denmark were confirmed as the second finalists.

'I'm done' - Emotional Clancy pulls out and confirms Olympic retirement

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