Orr goes close to medal for Northern Ireland at Commonwealth Games

*Northern Ireland's Cameron Orr put in a great shift to take 4th; a fantastic result at this level*

Cameron Orr went close to taking a medal for the Northern Ireland cycling team in the MTB race at the Commonwealth Games yesterday, but had to settle for 4th place in the end.

He was in a great battle for the bronze with England's Joseph Blackmore for a long time.

However, Namibia's Alexander Millar finished better than both of them and claimed the last step on the podium, behind two Kiwi riders who were in a class of their own during the race in Cannock Chase Forest.

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At the front of the race, the New Zealand duo of Sam Gaze and Ben Oliver forged ahead and it was clear they would take gold and silver. While they were closely matched for much of the race, Gaze eventually pulled away and won from Oliver by 31 seconds.

Millar was 2:01 down in the bronze medal position, with Orr and Blackmore finishing 4th and 5th just a further nine seconds back. Northern Ireland's Chris McGlinchey was also competing in the MTB race and he took 9th place, at six minutes.

There were 25 finishers - and just one DNF - with 10 of the riders finishing in the same lap as the winner and the remaining 15 finishers all at one lap.