Matt Walls flew into spectators in the horror crash
(Picture: PA)Sir Chris Hoy has called on cycling authorities to act following the horror crash involving Matt Walls at the Commonwealth Games.
The Olympic omnium champion flew off the track at Lee Valley VeloPark in London on his bike in a horrific high-bike crash in which spectators were also injured.
And Hoy called for protective barriers to be installed at velodromes to avoid a repeat.
He said: “I hope the people in power look at this and think something really has to be done before something genuinely serious happens in the future.
“I think it’s preventable if you put a plexiglass screen around [the spectators] like they do in ice hockey.”
The accident caused Sunday’s opening track session to be abandoned. Remarkably, Walls was discharged from hospital with only stitches to his forehead as well as scratches and bruises.
Laura Kenny admitted afterwards it had affected her mentally as she returned to the track for a similar bunch race in the evening session.
Kenny said: “It was horrendous and it was playing on my mind earlier. We all know it’s a dangerous sport. But the crashes are getting worse because the speeds are getting faster.
“Maybe there should be screens because Matt should not have been able to go over the top and into the crowd. That’s the third time that I’ve seen someone go over the top.”
