Australian cyclist suffers painful crash after handlebars fall off mid-race
An Australian track cyclist suffered a bizarre high-speed crash at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday after his handlebars appeared to snap midway through a race.
Alexander Porter was riding as man four in the men's team pursuit qualification when the horror malfunction took place, sending him to the floor nose first.
Although Porter, 25, was soon back on his feet, he appeared to have hurt his arm and shoulder and suffered track burns to his face.
After requesting a re-run, the Australian quartet were allowed a second attempt from competition officials but eventually finished fifth and out of contention for gold.
The team, which previously won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics. finished more than half a second down on Team GB.
Chris Boardman, commentating for the BBC, said: "I don't think I've seen that before. That is a real surprise.
"That must have been such a shock and it will resonate with the other [Australian] riders who are using the same equipment.”
Australia's qualification nightmare means Britain will now take on Denmark, the world record holders, on Tuesday as Ed Clancy, Ollie Wood, Ethan Hayter and Ethan Vernon aim to win a fourth successive men's team pursuit gold for Team GB.
Meanwhile, GB qualified second fastest in the women’s team pursuit.
Germany had earlier smashed the world record by nearly three seconds, set by Britain while winning gold in 2016.
The Team GB quartet of Laura Kenny, Elinor Barker, Katie Archibald and Josie Knight were then inside Germany's new mark before settling for second in qualification.
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