Philip Hindes admitted to crashing deliberately after helping propel Sir Chris Hoy to Olympic gold
British Cycling say comments lost in translation
Philip Hindes admitted to crashing deliberately after helping to propel Great Britain team-mate Sir Chris Hoy to a fifth Olympic gold.
Hoy, Hindes and Jason Kenny won the three-man, three-lap team sprint in a world record of 42.600 seconds, beating France.
Hindes picked himself up off the track after a poor start in qualifying to help Britain to two world records and Olympic gold in the Velodrome.
In an eventful start to his Olympic career, the specialist starter wobbled out of the start gate and lost control of his bike before tumbling to the track at the beginning of the first bend as his team-mates rolled past him and officials restarted the heat.
The 19-year-old German-born rider, who has a British father and joined British Cycling's academy in October 2010, said: "We were saying if we have a bad start we need to crash to get a restart. I just crashed, I did it on purpose to get a restart, just to have the fastest ride. I did it. So it was all planned, really."
British Cycling suggested Hindes' comments were "lost in translation" from a man who began learning English only after moving to Manchester to train at the velodrome, while the International Cycling Union confirmed the result was not in question, with Britain taking gold ahead of France and Germany bronze.
There was no rule to govern the incident and no appeal is possible, with France accepting the final outcome.
In the post-race press conference, Hindes denied it was deliberate when asked directly about his earlier comments.
"No. I just went out the gate and just lost control, just fell down," he said.
"My back wheel slipped and totally lost control and then I couldn't handle the bike any more and just crashed."
For Hoy his fifth Olympic title, in front of a partisan crowd, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Prime Minister David Cameron, was emotional and his best.
The 36-year-old from Edinburgh, who was tearful after the success, said: "I thought my first win in Athens was the most memorable for me, but this by far is my greatest win. It's an incredible feeling."
On moving level with Sir Steve Redgrave as the Briton with the most Olympic gold medals, Hoy added: "I still don't think anyone can better Steve's record in terms of what he's achieved.
"It's not just the number, it's the way he did it, in five consecutive Games."
Hoy on Tuesday is set to ride for a sixth Olympic gold in the keirin, an event in which he is defending champion and reigning world champion.
Victoria Pendleton is also set to ride in the keirin, with Britain's team pursuit quartet are seeking gold having set a world record in qualifying.
Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh laid down the gauntlet to their rivals, clocking 3:52.499.
It was 0.796 seconds faster than their World Championship-winning record and three seconds faster than nearest rivals Australia.
Britain are set to meet Denmark in the first round, with the winners advancing to the final. Denmark qualified in 3:58.298.
