Olympic cyclist accused of ‘deliberately headbutting’ Team GB star in heavy crash | Other | Sport
Team GB‘s Oliver Wood went down hard in the men’s madison on Saturday, and many viewers felt strongly that his collision with Jan-Willem van Schip was deliberate on the part of the Dutch rider.
Wood and his madison partner Mark Stewart were already way down in the points standings when their race went from bad to worse with 39 laps to go at the Paris Olympics. A clash of heads between Wood and Van Schip, who was hurtling around the outside, sent the Brit tumbling to the floor of the Velodrome.
And Wood took some time to get back to his feet, with former British Olympic hero Chris Hoy telling the BBC: “He whacked him on the head. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ollie Wood was concussed from that.
“He wouldn’t be expecting it either. His body would be loose. He would be relaxed and then getting this massive hit – I really felt for him there.”
When footage of the collision was posted to social media, many accused Van Schip of a deliberate headbutt on Wood, as @Hooty1981 wrote on X: “That’s a headbutt, is it not???” and @nanakwameansah8 added: “That was deliberate from the Dutch.”
Others also piled in on Van Schip, who finished seventh in the madison points standings alongside Yoeri Havik. More reaction on X saw @TheMarkBStewart write: “I can’t understand, in an Olympic medial final, how a someone can blatantly take out a competitor with no repercussions,” while @Owls1412 said: “100 per cent intentional.”
Wood himself chimed in on the collision after the race, and he jumped to the defence of his Dutch rival. “(I feel) alright,” he said. “Just feel like I’ve been rear-ended by a lorry, that’s all.
“Everyone has gone so deep. Van Schip especially, I’ve seen him go really deep before. He’s obviously not looking and ploughed straight into me.”
Team GB have been strong in the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome at the Paris Olympics but Wood and Stewart failed to make an impact in the madison, finishing 10th overall on -9 points.
A chaotic race saw Portugal take victory ahead of Italy in silver and Denmark in bronze. Aside from Woods’ brush with Van Schip, another gruesome collision unfolded during the madison when Albert Torres of Spain crashed with Belgian star Fabio Van den Bossche.
