Thomas wins gold for Wales in Commonwealth Games road race
Bauer, Thwaites round out men's podium
Geraint Thomas took a heart-stopping solo victory in the Commonwealth Games men’s road race, beating Jack Bauer (New Zealand) and Scott Thwaites (England). The Welshman attacked on the last ascent of St. Vincent Street, but suffered a puncture in the closing kilometres. He didn’t panic as he waited for a slow wheel change and powered home to win by more than a minute.
“It's unbelievable, I never expected it to be honest," Thomas said after the race. "Coming after the Tour [de France], I was tired at the end of that. I thought it would be a massive challenge to get results here. But the motivation was there, and to get bronze in the time trial was a massive boost for the confidence."
Behind Thomas, it was Bauer and Thwaites who battled it out for the remaining two medals. The two had been in the attack with Thomas, which went clear on lap eight, but neither had the legs to go with him when jumped in the finale. Thwaites led out the sprint for silver, but Bauer came around him to pip him to the line by the smallest of margins. What was left of the peloton was led over the line by Russell Downing (England), more than four minutes behind the winner.
The scene was set for what was going to be a gruelling race as the heavens opened over Glasgow moments before the 139 riders took to the start line. The large criterium-like circuit was already going to be tricky to master but with wet roads it was a whole other matter. The race had barely got going when Peter Kennaugh (Isle of Man) flew off the front.
Kennaugh’s attack scattered the race to the four winds, and riders began to get blown off the back as the peloton tried to chase down the lone Manxman. There were a few furtive looks over the shoulder, but it wasn’t long before Kennaugh knew he would have to do this one alone.
Three separate attacks tried to chase him down, the most serious of them was a three-man move consisting of Nathan Haas (Australia), Svein Tuft (Canada) and Peter Hawkins (Northern Ireland). None succeeded and all were quickly absorbed by the peloton. As the group behind settled into a rhythm, Kennaugh’s gap continued to grow to almost two minutes at the halfway point.
As in the women’s race, Australia were the dominant team on the front of the peloton. Thursday’s silver medallist in the time trial, Rohan Dennis was initially the rider doing most of the work. The rain had abated, but the roads were still slick, and the newly-announced BMC rider came a cropper on a cobbled corner. Dennis avoided any serious injuries, but decided to call it quits, suffering with cuts and bruises.
Tired of doing the chasing, as they had for almost the entire race, Australia tried a different tactic by sending Haas up the road and handing the chasing duties to New Zealand. The experiment didn’t work, however, Kennaugh only gained time.
After riding for well over 100 kilometres on his own, Kennaugh suddenly found himself in company when Jack Bauer saw his opportunity on St Vincent Street and began to solo across. He was soon joined by Thomas and Thwaites, and the trio connected with Kennaugh after he crested Gibson Street, two climbs later. After doing all the early work, Australia were noticeably missing from the lead group. It was the beginning of the end for Kennaugh, who was blown out the back of the lead group before the end of the lap.
The fight for the medals had been whittled down to just three men. Each one was guaranteed some reward, but the question was which colour would it be? Aware that his sprint wasn’t enough to match Thwaites, Thomas decided to have a dig near the top of St. Vincent Street. The Welshman was the strongest man on the climb and quickly built up a substantial lead.
Just when it looked like Thomas was certain of victory, a puncture would have had his heart beating a little faster. With no team car around, he was forced to take a neutral service wheel and endure an excruciatingly slow change. Mercifully, Thomas got going before the two chasers reached him but his advantage had been cut in half. “When I got that puncture, I thought to myself 'what am I going to do?', but luckily I had enough of a gap to hold on,” said Thomas, who won by a margin of 1:21 over the two chasers.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Geraint Thomas (Wales) | 4:13:05 |
2 | Jack Bauer (New Zealand) | 0:01:21 |
3 | Scott Thwaites (England) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Russell Downing (England) | 0:04:29 |
5 | Mark Renshaw (Australia) | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Luke Rowe (Wales) | 0:04:32 |
7 | Greg Henderson (New Zealand) | 0:05:15 |
8 | Peter Kennaugh (Isle of Man) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Dan Craven (Namibia) | 0:09:03 |
10 | Scott Davies (Wales) | 0:10:10 |
11 | David Millar (Scotland) | 0:10:21 |
12 | Caleb Ewan (Australia) | 0:11:22 |
DNF | Sean Downey (Northern Ireland) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Simon Clarke (Australia) | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Grant Ferguson (Scotland) | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Moses (England) | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Scully (New Zealand) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Owain Doull (Wales) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Shane Archbold (New Zealand) | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tobyn Horton (Guernsey) | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nathan Haas (Australia) | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Hepburn (Australia) | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
DNF | William Routley (Canada) | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jake Kelly (Isle of Man) | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Connor McConvey (Northern Ireland) | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Svein Tuft (Canada) | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paul Oldham (England) | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
DNF | James McLaughlin (Guernsey) | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Roger Robert Aiken (Northern Ireland) | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Till Drobisch (Namibia) | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jesse Segent (New Zealand) | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Peter Hawkins (Northern Ireland) | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Adrien Niyanshuti (Rwanda) | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nicholas Hamilton (Canada) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya) | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ed Veal (Canada) | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Janvier Hadi (Rwanda) | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Richard Loning'o Laizer (Tanzania) | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dominique Mayho (Bermuda) | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Fraser Duncan (Northern Ireland) | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marios Athanasiadis (Cyprus) | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yannick Lincoln (Mauritius) | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christos Loizou (Cyprus) | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Loh Sea Keong (Malaysia) | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
DNF | James McCallum (Scotland) | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Northey (New Zealand) | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Samuel Harrison (Wales) | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthew Osborn (Guernsey) | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Geron Williams (Guyana) | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jamol Eastmond (Barbados) | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marlon Williams (Guyana) | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alanzo Greaves (Guyana) | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gerhard Mans (Namibia) | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Heiko Redecker (Namibia) | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anim Samuel (Ghana) | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jeevan Jayasinghe (Sri Lanka) | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gasore Hategeka (Rwanda) | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Agorir Ngasike (Kenya) | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jyme Bridges (Antigua and Barbuda) | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
DNF | John Muya (Kenya) | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Muhammad Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi (Malaysia) | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrew Fenn (Scotland) | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mark Christian (Isle of Man) | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alex Dowsett (England) | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dennis Rohan (Australia) | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Raynauth Jeffrey (Guyana) | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Njau (Kenya) | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
DNF | James Roe (Guernsey) | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jordan Lebon (Mauritius) | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Teboho Khantsi (Lesotho) | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Evan Oliphant (Scotland) | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jack Pullar (Scotland) | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrew Roche (Isle of Man) | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Elliot Baxter (Isle of Man) | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Costa Seibib (Namibia) | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Remi Pelletier (Canada) | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Emmanuel Philimon Mollely (Tanzania) | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Serafin (Guernsey) | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Aaron Bailey (Guernsey) | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Robert Barnes (Jamaica) | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Arvind Panwar (India) | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (Rwanda) | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jean Bosco Nsengimana (Rwanda) | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Valens Ndayisenga (Rwanda) | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jonathan Mould (Wales) | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Morgan Rudd (Swaziland) | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ara Mondjem (Swaziland) | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Orano Andrews (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Cameron Adams (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Buddihika Warnakula Sooriya (Sri Lanka) | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Edward Pothin (Seychelles) | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chris Germain (Seychelles) | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Antoine Arrisol (Seychelles) | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Loto Petrus (Namibia) | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastien Tyack (Mauritius) | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mike Cong Chin (Mauritius) | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Leonard Tsoyo (Malawi) | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Missi Kathumba (Malawi) | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Richard Tanguy (Jersey) | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Amit Kumar (India) | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Muhammad I'Maadi Abd Aziz (Brunei Darussalam) | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ron Vasquez (Belize) | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gregory Lovell (Belize) | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Giovanni Lovell (Belize) | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joel Borland (Belize) | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jay Major (Bahamas) | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marvin Spencer (Antigua and Barbuda) | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anthony Colebrook (Bahamas) | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chad Albury (Bahamas) | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Danny Laud (Anguilla) | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anthony Muite (Kenya) | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Oneil Samuels (Jamaica) | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marloe Rodman (Jamaica) | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sombir (India) | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ian Stannard (England) | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michele Smith (Cayman Islands) | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Zachary Bell (Canada) | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andre Simon (Antigua and Barbuda) | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Phetetso Monese (Lesotho) | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Manjeet Singh (India) | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Moses Sesay (Sierra Leone) | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Suresh Bishnoi (India) | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Scott Savory (Guyana) | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Deangelo Stirrup (Bahamas) | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Roy Colebrook Jnr (Bahamas) | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Kigongo Semakula (Uganda) | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Leon Matovu (Uganda) | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Abdul Umar (Ghana) | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mohammed Osman (Ghana) | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anthony Boakye Dankwa (Ghana) | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kris Pradel (Anguilla) | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sherwin Osborne (Anguilla) | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joseph Kelly (Isle of Man) | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jesse Kelly (Isle of Man) | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Shreedhar Savanur (India) | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christian Spence (Jersey) | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Benjamin Philip (Anguilla) | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Justin Hodge (Anguilla) | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Philip Lavery (Northern Ireland) | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Christopher Symonds (Ghana) | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
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Born in Ireland to a cycling family and later moved to the Isle of Man, so there was no surprise when I got into the sport. Studied sports journalism at university before going on to do a Masters in sports broadcast. After university I spent three months interning at Eurosport, where I covered the Tour de France. In 2012 I started at Procycling Magazine, before becoming the deputy editor of Procycling Week. I then joined Cyclingnews, in December 2013.
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