There was horrifying scenes at the Olympics velodrome yesterday after three cyclists were involved in a high speed crash, leaving them with nasty injuries.
When you think of cycling injuries and accidents road cycling is most likely the first thing that comes to mind, due to the prevalence of biker and car collisions, however it turns out that speeding around the velodrome can be just as risky.
During the women's keirin event yesterday (8 August) three cyclists were involved in a nasty collision which left the bikes smashed up.
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The scary collision occurred when Netherlands rider Steffie van der Peet fell slipped from her bike and tumbled to the floor, with Belgium's Nicky Degrendele and China's Yuan Liying subsequently crashing into her.
The three women then skidded along the velodrome floor as the crowd and Olympic staff watched on in horror.
Viewers at home were also left shocked by the scenes, with several people taking to social media to share their concerns for the three women.
"That velodrome crash was awful - I’ve never seen bikes disintegrate like that!i hope all the riders involved are okay," one person wrote, while a second added: "Omg that crash in the velodrome looked brutal."
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Despite being in clear discomfort, none of the three women were severely injured.
Van der Peet appeared to take the brunt of the injuries, with the Dutch athlete seen with burns along her back and left leg as the speed of the crash caused her clothing to disintegrate.
Degrendele initially appeared to be suffering severe discomfort but was later seen smiling and waving to the crowd, while a clearly distraught Yuan had to be helped up and off the track by her coaching staff.
Meanwhile staff could be seen clearing bike debris and fixing the track after the three women were led away to be checked over.
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Degrendele and van der Peet would go on to make the semi-finals and final, finishing 11th and 10th out of 12 respectively, while Team GB's Emma Finucane took home the bronze medal.
She was pipped to the post by Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand who won gold and Dutch silver medallist Hetty van de Wouw.
However this didn't seem to matter for Finucane, who later shared her joy about finishing on the podium with BBC Sport.
"I’m just living my little dream to be honest. I can't believe it," she said.
"To get a bronze medal, it literally feels like gold to me because I left everything out there on the track."
Brenna Cooper