If you want to get a sense of the bedlam of the madison in a sweat box of a Velodrome, you just had to watch Neah Evans be helped off the track after claiming a hard-earned silver medal.

Breathless and dripping in sweat, she was draped in an ice vest by one of Team GB’s staff, downed a recovery shake in one and stood for interviews, glistening.

“It is so chaotic,” Evans says, grinning. “There are other events – I don’t want to demean them – that are more straightforward.

“If you’re in good shape and execute your plan, you can predict it to a degree. Whereas, in the madison, you can be in the form of your life and someone crashes into you and it’s over.”

The sights and sounds are astonishing to behold. A crack of a starting pistol, then a low hum of wheels zipping on the wooden boards.

The track becomes a tumble dryer of colour as the riders jostle for position where there appears to be barely room to exhale.

Riders are literally flung into action by their partner, as they grip their arm while flying past at stunning speed.