Crash costs Brits more glory

Hayles (left) slides along the track at 35mph

Great Britain have been narrowly denied yet another cycling medal after a crash with one lap to go in the Madison race.

The team of Rob Hayles and Bradley Wiggins were lying in the top three for 239 of the 240 laps around the Dunc Gray velodrome.

They were denied a chance to seal a medal in the final sprint when Hayles was accidentally brought down in a crash as the bell rang for one lap to go.

The disappointment ruled out a medal but still meant that the GB pair finished an excellent fourth against some of the most experienced pairs in the event.

Hayles also missed out on bronze by one spot in the individual pursuit

Australians Scott McGrory and Brett Aitken won the gold - the home nation's first at the velodrome. Belgium secured silver and Italy took bronze.

Despite the British team's success Hayles has had a relatively unlucky Olympics.

He missed out on a bronze medal by one place in the individual pursuit.

At first he and Jon Clay missed out on a medal in the team pursuit despite riding the semi-final, but the IOC has now decided to award all six members of the squad with one.

How it works

The Madison is a bunch race around the track, with pairs of riders competing for points every 20 circuits of the 240-lap, 80km event.

One rider races while the other tours around the top of the banked circuit, and the pair are free to switch places whenever they like.

They change over by gripping hands, with the rider finishing his turn propelling his partner into the race with a high-speed throw.

Points are awarded to either rider throughout the event, although any pair who can gain a lap on the field automatically take a higher place than those he has lapped, regardless of points.

Excellent start

Britain started the race superbly and won two of the first three sprints.

But the Australian pair pegged them back to a point in the fifth sprint and levelled the scores at 12 points each at the halfway point.

As the second half of the race unfolded, the host nation took the lead for the first time on the seventh sprint, with a third place to Britain's fourth.

The home side then made a decisive break in the following three, with two seconds and a win, to effectively seal the gold medal.

With 40 laps remaining Australia were out in front with 24 points to Britain's 13.

Wiggins and Hayles were left with the task of repelling the Italian and Belgian teams in the remainder of the race.

These top European pairings had both moved to within a point of the British pair, and Hayles need to get to the front of the bunch to make sure of some points.

However as the bell rang for a lap to go, the Austrian pair had a bad changeover and one came down, causing a Spanish rider and then Hayles to crash.

Italy drew level on the penultimate sprint, but Hayles' latest misfortune curtailed any hope of a medal-winning finish.

The Briton lay distraught for several minutes on the track before being helped to his feet.

Wiggins finished the race in the bunch to ensure fourth place but it was an unlucky end to a superb Olympics for the British track team, which has brought a gold, a silver and two bronzes.