A high-speed collision involving several riders resulted in England’s Matt Walls being catapulted over the side of the track and into the crowd with his bike, with cyclists and spectators sustaining injuries. The incident led to calls from Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Laura Kenny for improvements to velodrome safety.

In deed, the five-time Olympic champion Laura Kenny, who was scheduled to compete in three races at the Games, said the crash made her question whether or not she should take to the track for her second race.

“It was horrendous,” she said. “It was playing on my mind earlier, I messaged Jason [her husband] and said: ‘I’m not sure I even want to do this.’ It just puts everything into perspective when something like that happens.”

Photos of the incident show English cyclist Matt Walls careening over the railing and into spectator seating during the second heat of the men’s scratch race. Canadian cyclist Derek Gee can also be seen riding dangerously close to the top of the railing.

Due to this situation, the London venue will install a 1.4 metre-high barrier, costing £250,000, around the track later this month. In a statement, Lee Valley said the barrier is “a UK first for an existing velodrome and is believed to be only the third of its kind in the world to be retrofitted”.

It added that cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, was consulted on the design of the barrier, which it says will improve rider and spectator safety as well as providing better visibility through the transparent screen for fans sitting at lower levels.

It comes as part of £750,000 (€873,000) of improvements to the venue that are scheduled to be completed by the end of August. Walls, the Isle of Man’s Matt Bostock and Canada’s Derek Gee went to hospital after the crash on the final lap of a qualifying heat for the men’s scratch race, but none of them sustained major injuries. Spectators were also injured, with one requiring surgery for a serious arm injury.

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