Finish-line crash sees Paralympic road race leaders miss out on medals (video)

The men's C4-5 road race at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games descended into mayhem as the two race leaders crashed within metres of the line, seeing the third place rider cross first to take gold.

Australian Alistair Donohoe and Ukrainian Yehor Dementyev were jostling for the win 75m ahead of Daniel Abraham Gebru (Netherlands) when Donohoe fell.

The Australian's crash took Dementyev with him, leaving both riders sprawled on the ground with the finish line in touching distance.

Donohoe took off on foot to try and cross the line ahead of Gebru, but a 15 minute deliberation by the race jury resulted in him being disqualified on a technicality.

Despite not crossing the finish line and leaving the race on a stretcher, Dementyev was also disqualified for riding aggressively to cause the crash.

Brazilian Lauro Cesar Chaman took the silver medal and Andrea Tarlao (Italy) crossed the line for bronze.

However the dramatic finish was overshadowed by the tragic death of Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad, who suffered a cardiac arrest after crashing on one of the course's descents. He died shortly after arriving at Unimed Rio Hospital.