If you were watching the Olympic men's keirin final in Rio on television last night, you were no doubt on the edge of your seat due to the immense drama that almost saw Jason Kenny (a.k.a the man who has equalled Sir Chris Hoy's British record of six gold medals) disqualified from the competition.
While we're still not convinced we have the foggiest idea how the kierin works, we do know the tense final had to be restarted twice after some of the riders had overtaken the electric derny bike (basically, the man not competing at the front) that sets the pace in the early laps.
In the first attempt, Jason appeared to have overtaken the back wheel of the pacemaker before it left the track (a no-go in the keirin) but was saved from disqualification due to problems with the camera's positioning in the velodrome, which made it impossible for adjudicators to confirm whether his positioning was a fault.
Despite several minutes of agonising waiting – for viewers and the cyclists – the racers were then invited back onto the track for the final. But moments later, a German cyclist (Joachim Eilers) made the same mistake, but again, the judges weren't in the position to disqualify him.
Third time's a charm right?
While Jason Kenny was able to remain composed and bring in his sixth gold medal, it was the derny driver (or 'moped man', as we like to call him) who bore the wrath of viewers at home, everyone blaming him for disrupting the race.
But who is this straight backed, steely faced Derny driver of determination?
Much like Top Gear's Stig, little is known of the helmet-clad man, leading many to question whether it was in fact Chris Hoy in disguise, sabotaging Kenny's attempt to match his number of gold medals.
Whoever it was, keep pedalling Derny man. Or bare the wrath of velodrome fans everywhere.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
