Not what you want to see; Irish rider Caroline Ryan stricken by the side of the track having crashed during what was Ireland's final event at the World Track Championships (Photo: Cycling Ireland)
A challenging World Track Championships for Ireland have been brought to a close with a horrible turn of events as Caroline Ryan crashed out of the points race and was taken away on a stretcher.
Having taken a bronze medal at the Worlds four years ago in the same race in Melbourne, Ryan went into the event with a chance of pulling something out of the bag.
The first Irish female rider to medal at the Worlds and at a World Cup, Ryan has been part of the women's team pursuit line-up that has repeatedly impressed in recent months and was 9th at these championships.
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However, any hopes of the former rowing international adding to that result came to a shuddering halt when Hong Kong rider Yao Pang fell and then slid down the track, taking out Ryan.
The Kildare Garda had been in the thick of the action through the fast-paced event and got herself into a number of moves that sought to gain a lap on the others.
None of those moves stuck and Ryan was denied the chance of seeing what she might do in the closing stages when she was taken out; one of four fallers in the same spill.
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In those closing laps of the race Pang lost control of her bike and came down, taking Ryan and two other riders with her as she slid down the boards.
Unfortunately the Irish woman fared worst of the fallers and was stretchered away from the track with a suspected shoulder injury.
The points race was eventually won by Katarzyna Pawlowska of Poland, with Canadian Jasmin Glaesser second and Arlenis Sierra Canadilla from Cuba in third place.
Glaesser also took the silver medal in 2012 just ahead of history maker Ryan.
Cycling Ireland said more details would be released when news of Ryan’s condition was confirmed.
We’ll bring you those details when we have them and we’ll have a comprehensively wrap of the Worlds shortly to conclude our coverage of recent days.
Ryan in the points race pack before being taken out of the race at the World Track Championships in London (Photo: Cycling Ireland)
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