The sport of pursuit cycling is one of risk and reward and Britain’s Archie Atkinson felt the sharp edge of that when he was denied a gold medal after crashing out of the men’s C4 4,000m final on the penultimate lap.
Atkinson had been about six seconds ahead of his rival, Jozef Metelka, of Slovakia, but the gap was closing as the race reached its climax. The 20-year-old sensation set a world record in qualifying and was looking to kick on again one final time, only for the air to be sucked from the velodrome when his bike slipped out from underneath him as he came round the top bend.
