VIDEO: Ethan Hayter escapes a disaster as he slides off his saddle in the final of Track Pursuit at the Olympic Games
Track CyclingThursday, 08 August 2024 at 04:00
Ethan Hayter had a close call in the team pursuit final at the Paris Olympics. On the final lap, the 25-year-old Briton slid off his saddle and landed on the top tube of his bike. Incredibly, he managed to stay upright.
The final between Australia and Great Britain was evenly matched for a long time, but towards the end of the four-kilometre race it became clear that the ball would roll in Australia's direction.
The British also got the fright of their lives on the last lap when Hayter slid off his saddle and landed on the tube of his bike. For the INEOS Grenadiers rider it was most important to get his bike under control as quickly as possible to avoid a nasty crash.
And miraculously, he succeeded. Afterwards, he explained his near-accident in an interview with the BBC. Already with five laps to go, he felt the fatigue taking control over his body. "I had simply given too much," said the four-time world champion. "My whole body became weak and I could hardly keep myself on the bike. It's embarrassing to say that. Sorry to the other guys. We gave everything and we can be proud of that, that's what counts."
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- Based on what we saw today the Tour is going to be a corker.mobk09-06-2025
- Jonas looks like he had Tadej on the limit on the last short climb. I think Jonas is going to be tough to get past on the climb's, even if Tadej is still ahead in the mountains, I'm guessing they will be closer to each other.awp09-06-2025
- that was actually a GREAT result for van der poel, it seems to me.OCexile08-06-2025
- CAPTION (that 1st 1 pic) Pog. to JV I'm in the right gear, I know so am I 😉
leedorney08-06-2025 - lol so true. hunt stages. pidcock is the most perplexing rider in the pelotonmij08-06-2025
- Nice to see Jonas coming out of his shell, both during and after the race. Wonder what he said that made Tadej react 'Oh really?!'.Renz08-06-2025
- ah
KerisVroom08-06-2025 - Jonas wanted to congratulate Tadej, that's all. He was distracted.
maria2024202408-06-2025 - A podium would have kept the streak going, but winning makes it even stronger. Since Jebel Hafeet at the UAE Tour, across Strade Bianchi and 4 monuments, he has been no worse than third. 9 consecutive podiums, 6 wins on the road, one GC. Good lord.RidesHills08-06-2025
- Fantastic and unexpected! a Jonas in Tadej style! My fear was that Jonas might be too worried (a bit paralyzed) by the risks of cycling after his crashes.. I'm very happy to see that it's not the case.maria2024202408-06-2025
The "accident" was helped along by the stupid rule the U.C.I. have in place that the nose of the saddle must be behind the centre of the bottom bracket by at least 5 centimeters. Riders of all sizes have to adapt to that geometry rather than have common sense applied and have the bike geometry built to fit the rider. It's bad enough for men to conform but for women riders who typically use smaller frames. it is much worse.
Watch a time trial and look at how riders constantly try to move back on the saddle with the nose of the saddle at the 5cm market. That rule on saddle postioning by the U.C.I. doesn't make ergonomic sense. Nothing new there of course in twisted thinking from the U.C.I.
I guess you don't know that you can be less than 5cm back if you accept having less reach huh? A lot of the women do this, only a small number of men do. And if you knew anything about weight balance on a bike, you'd know that it's not going to help someone's bike handling to slam a saddle forward unless they're VERY short on a bike with 700c wheels.
*Have you ever ridden on a track before?
Great Bikes, great riders but terrible tactics. Should have known better.
Do explain how the tactics were terrible and what they should have done in your opinion
Read the post race comments from the team, explains everthing.
No mention of tactics at all . Just an accident
Great riders, great bikes, did their best but were beaten by a better team. No shame in that.