Cycling: Viviani wins gold for Italy in men's omnium
By Martyn Herman
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Italy's Elia Viviani recovered from a mid-race crash to win the gold medal in the track cycling men's omnium on Monday after a thrilling finish in the Olympic velodrome.
An attritional battle in the 160-lap points race -- the final event of the two-day omnium -- ended with Viviani doing enough to hold off his main rivals for the title.
After winning the penultimate sprint, Viviani knew the gold was all but secure unless either Mark Cavendish or 2012 champion Lasse Norman Hansen managed to launch an audacious late attack.
As it turned out, he rode the last 10 laps out on front, leaving Britain's Cavendish to take the silver 16 points behind and Hansen the bronze a further 10 points back.
An emotional Viviani, a road rider for Team Sky, grabbed an Italian flag as he rode a lap of honour.
Cavendish's silver meant he finally claimed the Olympic medal that had always eluded him -- having missed out on the track in 2008 and again on the road four years ago.
Monday's race was neutralised with just under 25km (100 laps) to go when Viviani, Australia's Glenn O'Shea and South Korea's Sanghoon Park fell heavily coming out of the final turn in a crash caused by Cavendish.
Park was taken off on a stretcher with a battered face.
Viviani, who began the final event with a 16-point lead over Cavendish, got back on his bike though and, after Cavendish and Hansen both threatened to overhaul him, he remained admirably cool and composed in the frantic dash for points.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Neil Robinson)