MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France (AP) — Chinese track cyclist Yuan Liying had to be helped off the track by two coaches after causing a heavy wreck when she barely missed out on advancing through the quarterfinals of the women’s keirin on Thursday at the Paris Olympics.
The six-lap keirin begins with riders following a motorized bike called a derny for three laps. When it swings off the track, the riders are left to sprint for three more laps. The races are typically elbow-to-elbow affairs all the way to the finish line.
Lea Friedrich of Germany, world champion Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand and Nicky Degrendele of Belgium were safely ahead and into the semifinals, leaving Yuan trying to claim the last of four spots. She tried to squeeze past Dutch rider Steffie van der Peet in a hole that did not exist as they crossed the finish line, taking them both down in the first turn.
Their crash, which sent pieces of helmets and bikes skittering across the track, also brought Degrendele to the ground. She was able to stand and walk off, while Van der Peet had a shredded skinsuit and bloody burns from hitting the track. Both were left to quickly recover from the wreck before the semifinals later Thursday.
Yuan was the last of the three riders to stand up. She grimaced in pain and needed help from two of her coaches holding each of her elbows to reach the infield at the Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Crashes are not uncommon in track cycling, especially as sprinting riders reach speeds of more than 70 kph (43 mph). The track cycling program had to be halted as workers patched and sanded the gouges the riders took out of the pine surface.
