Olympics-Cycling-Crash can't deny Frenchman Thomas omnium gold, NZ's Andrews wins keirin

Paris 2024 Olympics - Track Cycling - Men's Omnium, Points Race 4/4 - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France - August 08, 2024. Benjamin Thomas of France celebrates after winning gold. REUTERS/Matthew Childs

SAINT QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (Reuters) - There is never a good time to fall off your bike but 23 laps from the end of an Olympic omnium points race decider with a gold medal on the line looked like being curtains for Frenchman Benjamin Thomas at the National Velodrome on Thursday.

Instead, the 28-year-old picked himself up, checked that he and his machine were still intact, and then rode a wave of noise to the finishing line for a spine-tingling victory.