The excitement at the Paris Olympics velodrome rose in a crescendo in the closing laps of the men's team pursuit gold medal final as the Great Britain quarter battled with their Australian rivals.
With two laps to go, Great Britain were within two-tenths of a second and accelerating behind powerhouse rider Ethan Hayter, when he nearly crashed due to the pain if his final effort. The two teams has pushed each other to their limits and Great Britain exploded in an intense, nail-biting battle.
Hayter rode around the track on his top-tube and Great Britain finished with a time of 3:44.394, more than two seconds slower than Australia, who began to celebrate winning the gold medal.
"We were so close and I could see it. I just really gave too much, my whole body went weak and I really struggled to hold myself on the bike in the end," Hayter told the BBC after his ride.
Dan Bigham, the team's aerodynamics specialist, 'randomer', and a quarter of its engine on Wednesday, explained that the mistake was the result of the team forcing Hayter to take longer pulls.
"We were three-tenths off in qualifying, and that's just a dodgy change or a poor lap," Bigham told Cyclingnews and the assembled media post-race.
Australia set a new world record in the first round of competition, and Bigham said Britain would have to target a world record to win the gold. They switched up their strategy for the final and put more work onto the shoulders of Hayter, their strongest rider.
"We gave him four and three-quarters (lap pulls). Normally, we're giving him four and a quarter. To give him his due, in qualifying rounds he's not been full gas. He's been riding it in and Ollie [Wood] and Chaz [Charlie Tanfield] and I have had to be sucking his wheel, hoping for the best.
"Hayter found the limit that time, and it just happened that the limit also was the end of the saddle, and that was the end of our run. To be within two-tenths with a lap to go, it's exactly where we thought we needed to be and what we thought it would take - it was always going to be a tight fight. It's just frustrating to have it so close and just fall away from you in that moment.
"This is the nature of team pursuit, and at this level, it literally is on a knife edge. At the back end, you're trying to get three guys over the line absolutely empty, completely cooked, and the breaking point has to be somewhere - and you saw it."
The Great Britain team was impacted by Bigham crashing in training on Friday. He skipped the first round after riding in qualifying, then came back slightly off his best.
"I haven't crashed on the track in eight years and just thought it's been the worst possible moment to do it and cost performance. I can't hide I was not my absolute best today. That's frustrating for sure. That's possibly the difference between gold and silver."
Bigham made his way to the Olympics in a highly unconventional fashion, racing as a low-level pro while working in aerodynamics and then applying his knowledge and skills to turning his physiology into performances good enough to make him an Olympian.
"One thing we strive on is being the best-executing team. You go back and watch how we ride the line, how we are in the corners, our changes - we pride ourselves on executing the most perfect ride we can. Not speaking for myself, but we're not the most powerful guys in the world. We're not [Filippo] Ganna and [Jonathan] Milan and [Sam] Welsford.
"We've got Hayter, but that was our limiting factor, and that's why we changed it around for the final again, putting Chaz in at (position) two and bringing me back in at three. Chaz's threshold is a little bit higher than Ollie's, and he can really hang in there when Hayter's going full.
Bigham has been a modern-day Graeme Obree, bucking the system and being shut out of British Cycling until he finally convinced them that aerodynamic advantages can go much, much farther than physiology, nutrition and training.
He will leave his debut Olympic and his final Olympics, he confirmed, with the memory of a lifetime even if the medal was silver and not gold.
"It was a pretty cool experience, I've got to admit. You want to finish it off on a high. It's not to say it's not high, but you can make one intent and the intent is to try and win. It's a shame to not do that, and for it to be so close... I'm sure we'll pour over the numbers and probably find out where we probably could have won it but it's all if buts or maybes now.
"It's been a long old journey. And one I'm very proud of - a story that I'm looking forward to continuing to tell the future over beers and meals out - and to tell my son 'You were here and you saw me winning the Olympic silver medal'. It's pretty awesome and it's very unique.
"Hopefully, I have one more race in me at the World Champs to try and finish it on a high, and unfinished business in the individual pursuit against Filippo Ganna. But it's been pretty amazing. I think it's a very unique way of approaching the sport and I think that in itself, there are a lot of things I want to show about STEM about dual careers and about approaching the sport differently and not just accepting the status quo.
"I hope I can be a bright light in that respect that there's many ways to achieve performance and you don't just have to go the trodden path - you can go about things your own way."
Bigham has revealed he will not return to work for Ineos Grenadiers as part of their performance staff. He is expected to join a rival WorldTour team.
