LONDON -- The Nanda van Bergenmen's keirin final on Tuesday night was a bit of a messy one.

The thing is -- at least for anyone who isn't familiar with the velodrome -- the event is already quite confusing. It basically involves a serious-looking Olympic official on a little electric bike (a derny) leading racers round the track for five-and-a-half laps.

SEE ALSO: 12 times British athletes were true heroes at the 2016 Olympic Games

His pace gradually gets faster, but the racers aren't allowed to go past him until he's off the track; then, with two-and-a-half laps to go, derny man peels off and the riders overtake him and sprint to the finish.

You May Also Like
Mashable ImageHere are the racers getting ready to sprint past when the derny is off the track. Credit: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

It's a bit of an unusual event, sure, but at least nothing can go wrong if you know the rules, right?

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Well, not exactly. The men's final on Tuesday was plunged into unexpected, stadium-wide befuddlement after the riders overtook the derny beforehe was completely off the track, and panicked officials had to decide whether or not to disqualify anyone.

People gathered around replay monitors. Coaches Googled the rules. For 20 minutes, there was lots of standing around.

Mashable ImageThis is what widespread confusion looks like. Credit: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Finally, they decided to restart the race without making any disqualifications. The riders went off, the tension mounted, and then the exact same thing happened again the second time round.

This led to further delays.

Derny man, meanwhile, was cruising his way to internet fame.

Eventually, they restarted the race again without any disqualifications, and the third time around everybody kept their distance until the derny man was safely off the track.

By that point, though, he'd already reached meme status.

Some people speculated about the content of his rucksack.

Others were reminded of pizza.

Some thought derny man might just be making the most of his five minutes of fame.

Plenty of people were rooting for him.

Others, however, read something different in his poker face.

You may not have won a gold medal, derny man, but you certainly won the internet.