Topics: Sport, Olympics, World News, Health, News
Visitors to Paris' Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome were left horrified last night after witnessing a near-catastrophic collision which left three high-speed cyclists with gruesome injuries.
The female keirin athletes were travelling at staggering speeds of over 40mph when the incident occurred, which saw each of their bikes subsequently smashed into pieces.
Medics working at the Olympic stadium quickly rushed into the track, hoping to avert viewers' attention away from the mangled mess.
The devastating crash occurred when Netherlands star Steffie van der Peet's bike slid out from underneath her, causing her to lose control and trip onto the track.
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The 24-year-old Olympian was on the exterior of the pack of cyclists when tragedy struck, with the fall inevitable at the speed she was travelling.
Six other riders were then thrown from their own vehicles after the Dutch rider and her bike careered into them and the way of the path.
The back wheel of China's Yuan Liying bike was directly clattered by van der Peet's, causing her to fall sideways onto the track, with viewers gasping at the sight of her vehicle being thrown into the air.
Three of the cyclists were treated for serious injuries by emergency first aid staff surrounding the track.
Sadly, a domino effect then saw Belgium's Nicky Degrendele unable to avoid to mangled mess, after her bike - which was then still travelling with significant momentum - collided with Liying.
Though the initially attempted to stay on her machine despite having made contact, she was brought down by equipment taking up the track.
Degrendele was then thrown from over her bike's own handle bars, after which it looked to viewers as though her head had hit the ground with some force.
Other cyclists that were further back in the pack were thankfully able to divert the collision, whilst a few others had no choice but to be taken down.
Attendees to the stadium caught a glimpse of the Belgium as she was receiving treatment from medical staff, with some at the scene claiming she appeared to be in serious discomfort and was visibly upset by the loss.
It appeared as though van der Peet was the most severely injured of the group, however, after she was spotted with agonising burns to both her back and her left leg, where the seismic crash had torn her protective clothing from her body.
After medics rushed the women off the track, a team of technicians were left picking up the pieces of the riders' destroyed vehicles, some of which were missing vital elements.
The crash occurred after the race, during which cyclists were enjoying their 'cool down' phase, which sees them eventually slow until stopped.
The smallest pieces of debris were then seen being picked up by velodrome staff with a hoover, whilst big dents in the track's surfacr were covered by colossal pieces of tape.
Thankfully, viewers were later informed that all three riders were back on their feet with their injuries having been treated.
Degrendele was the only rider out of the three to had secured herself a place in the women's keirin final, where she finished in 11th place.
