Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Drama in men's cycling road race as Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart involved in crash

It was a case of déjà vu for Team GB cyclist Geraint Thomas after the Welshman was involved in a crash for the second successive Olympics Games.

Team GB's cyclists ahead of the men's road race

The 35-year-old, who also came off his bike at Rio 2016, suffered a fall involving team-mate Tao Geoghegan Hart in the men’s road race on Saturday, dashing the pair’s medal hopes.

Thomas, who won the 2018 Tour de France, eventually retired from the race with 60km remaining. Ecuador’s Ricardo Carapaz took gold after at thrilling finale as he edged out Wout van Aert of Belgium by one minute and seven seconds.

Slovenian Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar took bronze in a mad sprint for the remaining medals involving Thomas and Geoghegan Hart’s team-mate Adam Yates, who eventually placed ninth, his brother Simon coming in 17th.

The riders finished the epic 234km route at the Fuji International Speedway circuit, while thousands of spectators squeezed onto the streets in the hopes of catching sight of the cyclists as they made their way to the foothills of Mount Fuji.

A group of cyclists built up an early gap of more than 17 minutes as the competitors began the steep climb towards the Doshi Road.

It was here that Thomas and Geoghegan Hart collided, with the Welshman tumbling over Geoghegan Hart after the front wheel came off the 2020 Giro d’Italia winner’s bike.

Tweeting after the race Thomas wrote: “All good with me. Thanks for the messages!! Think I must have done something bad in a previous life! Freak crash, Tao lost his front wheel and decked it in front of me. I had nowhere to go, other than the floor as well.”

As well as his crash at the 2016 Olympics, Thomas suffered a dislocated shoulder during this year’s Tour de France.

The 17-minute gap was eventually cut down and Pogacar had a failed attempt to hit the front before Carapaz and American rider Brandon McNulty pulled away in a titanic battle for first place.

It was Carapaz who prevailed to win his first gold with Ecuador joining Iran and South Korea with one gold medal.

China leads the overall medal table with two gold and one bronze.

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