Great Britain’s team pursuit world title defence ends with crash in qualifying

Charlie Tanfield slipped coming out of the final corner at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome as Great Britain failed to set an official time

(PA)

Great Britain’s defence of their men’s team pursuit world title ended in a crash in qualifying at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow on Thursday morning.

Charlie Tanfield slipped coming out of the final corner at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome, and with Britain already down to three riders at that point they did not set an official time and went out of the competition.

Britain had been on course for the second fastest qualifying time behind Denmark and a ticket to the medal rounds prior to the incident.

Tanfield had come into the line up as a replacement for Ethan Hayter, who is out of these championships having been unable to recover from a broken collarbone in time, and had been struggling to hold the wheel of Dan Bigham and Ethan Vernon as they upped the pace in the finale.

As he fought to catch back up Tanfield, part of the GB squad that won the team pursuit world title in 2018, dropped his front wheel onto the blue band at the bottom of the track and lost control.

The 26-year-old received medical treatment on the track for several minutes before being able to walk off unassisted.

An update from British Cycling said: “Following his crash in this morning’s men’s team pursuit qualification, Charlie Tanfield was assessed immediately by the on-site medical team before being taken to hospital for further treatment.

“We wish Charlie a very speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back on his bike soon. Unfortunately, the men’s team pursuit riders will not progress in the competition.”

Jody Cundy later became the second British para-cyclist to set a new world record at these Championships as he clocked a time of 10.427 seconds in the men’s C4 omnium flying 200 metres.

Cundy’s focus in Glasgow is Friday’s kilo as he eyes a remarkable 14th consecutive world title, but he called Thursday’s record-breaking ride a “nice little surprise” as he chases points to help Britain qualify more riders for next summer’s Paralympics in Paris.

“I’ve been struggling to find a bit of speed lately but also I don’t get to do this event that often,” the 44-year-old said. “It was quite frustrating watching last year’s omnium and thinking I quite fancy a 200.

“I’m doing it this year to do a bit of points scoring. It’s a great opportunity to find a bit of speed and open up the legs before tomorrow. And a world record, I can’t complain.”