RELIEVED Pfeiffer Georgi kept her cool after avoiding a ‘crazy’ crash to win a memorable silver medal at the European Championships.

The Berkeley cycling star, 21, finished second in Munich on Saturday night in an elimination race marred by a major incident and concerning 40 minute delay.

Several riders took a shuddering tumble midway through the contest and world champion Letizia Paternoster, 23, required sustained trackside treatment from paramedics.

The Italian was evacuated to hospital but remained conscious and only suffered minor injuries.

The crash was one of two incidents after a first, more minor melee had seen Georgi, who recently returned from the Tour de France, narrowly escape unscathed.

The Gloucestershire star regained her focus to deliver a remarkably mature ride in Munich and admits pulling off a brilliant podium finish exceeded her expectations.

She said: “I started at the back and the first crash was right in front of me.

“Luckily I had a clear route – but it was a bit crazy with all the crashes.

“Everyone was fighting for position, and it’s just about staying focused with the restart and not getting caught up in it all.

“First of all as a rider, you hope everyone’s okay. That’s the main concern and you don’t want any of the competitors to be hurt.

“But then you’ve just got to try not to look too much, forces on your processes, stay on the rollers , keep your legs moving and talk to your coach and see if there’s any points you could improve on.

“It’s about focusing on your plan and getting back up.

“I’m pretty pleased – it’s the first time I’d ridden track for quite a while so I didn’t really come in with expectations.

“To come in and get a silver is pretty good for me.”

Georgi is more of a specialist on the road but pulled a brilliant ride out of the bag at Munich’s makeshift Messe velodrome.

Several riders have struggled to adapt to the shortened 200m distance but there is no evidence that contributed to Saturday night’s chaos.

Georgi, the national Under-23 time trial champion on the road, stayed calm under pressure and held her nerve after the restart to produce an intelligent performance.

She finished second behind Belgian star Lotte Kopecky and believes more is to come ahead of her madison and omnium events later in the week.

“I’m really looking forward to the omnium and madison – the madison is definitely a target,” she added.

“It’s nice for me to come and race on the track – it puts me in a nice position on the road with the speed.

“The Paris Olympic on the track might be an option.”

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the Germany city. Watch daily live coverage across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website