GB's Mark Cavendish wins silver in men's omnium – but Twitter has no idea what's going on

Cyclist Mark Cavendish won a coveted silver medal in the omnium last night, which everyone was very excited about... except they weren't quite sure how he did it.

The discipline, which sees competitors take part in various races in the velodrome, culminated in the 160-lap points race, which is arguably the most confusing of them all. This event sees all the riders take to the track with various aims. One is to try and lap the whole pack to earn 20 points, while the other is to race in sprint laps every ten laps, which – depending on where you cross the line – also earns you points. Then there's the whole 'trying not to get bashed off your bike by another rider' thing (Cavendish himself was involved in a scuffle, although managed to stay upright) to add to the drama of the whole thing.

Basically, as Wikipedia quite neatly puts it, "this race can be one of the more confusing races to watch for less familiar viewers".

Harry Potter author JK Rowling was among those scratching their heads...

https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/765289536150704128

Some felt that medals should be given out just for understanding the rules.

https://twitter.com/thefamilyevans/status/765431464351698944

There were some theories:

https://twitter.com/PhilippaHann/status/765285171146940416

Elsewhere the channel changes were causing more problems than the rules of the points race.

https://twitter.com/blossomgirl79/status/765318836518285312

More info was required...

https://twitter.com/rachg_84/status/765295484755927041

And there were some timing issues.

https://twitter.com/Pmcd14/status/765294898656477184

In summary, it was all "brilliantly manic":

https://twitter.com/iamthejlaw/status/765294918340337664

... and there was a medal at the end!

https://twitter.com/RedLunaPixie/status/765296676160634881

Phew...