Between the protests over Denmark's illegal shin splints and the drama of the Danish-British crash in the men's team pursuit came the news that Ed Clancy would abandon the race and announce his retirement from Olympic racing as Olympic Pursuit Champion. A new twist was added to the end of Great Britain's long reign.

Clancy, 36, was competing in his fourth Olympics and Great Britain had been the reigning Olympic champion since 2008, but back pain and a disappointing race in Monday's team pursuit qualifier forced Clancy to make the most difficult decision of his career. He was replaced by Charlie Tanfield in the quartet that eventually caught up with Denmark. Tanfield rallied, but in the end Great Britain failed to qualify for the bronze medal decider, ending the medal run and Clancy's Olympic career.

"I made two difficult decisions in the last 24 hours. One of them was to retire from the Olympics today. Both decisions I made were incredibly difficult, but that doesn't mean they were wrong," Clancy said emotionally in the Olympic velodrome before the race began.

"In yesterday's race, I knew after the first three kilometers that I couldn't do it. The first kilometers, two kilometers, three kilometers, I was full of adrenaline, nerves and willpower, but after that it was all I had. [When I saw Ethan's wheels pulling away from me, I knew I wasn't where I needed to be yet. Maybe that's how I saw it yesterday, but I knew there were better options."

"This is the end and it's very [emotional]," Clancy added. [Looking back to my first World Championships in 2005, it was an amazing journey. I've been with British Cycling for 20 years, they've been with me through good times and bad times, and I've had some life-changing experiences. If I could go back in time, I would do it all over again.

"Without further ado, thank you to everyone at British Cycling. A special shout out to Hannah Crowley at Physio who has genuinely extended my career by 7 years. My friends, family, and teammates have all been wonderful.

Clancy has won Olympic gold in team pursuit in the last three cycles and bronze in the omnium.

In 2005, at just 20 years old, she won her first world title in team pursuit. Clancy was also the 2010 Omnium world champion.

However, ongoing back and sciatica problems forced him to retire before the final race. His Olympic career is over, but he will continue his coaching and ambassadorial work this winter in the new UCI Track Champions League.

"As for what's next, I still love riding my bike and will finish the season competing in the UCI Track Champions League while focusing on launching the Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy," Clancy said.

"I'm also really enjoying my ambassadorial role with Pro Noctis, so I'd like to do more with them and stay connected with British Cycling. I have a lot of options, but for now I'm going to do everything I can to support the British Cycling team here in Tokyo."

Stephen Park, British Cycling's performance director, praised Clancy for his mentoring of other riders during his long career.

"I respect Ed's decision to retire from a sport he still has a strong passion for.

"Ed played a major role in moving the Games forward by dominating in Team Pursuit and winning his third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

"Off the bike, Ed embodies the values of the team and is a trusted mentor to his young teammates. On behalf of everyone on the Great Britain Cycling team, we wish him the best of luck in the future and hope that he will continue to be involved with us in some way in the future."