Claire Oakley on her way to 15th place in the XC Mountain Bike race in Glasgow, coming home on the flat tyre that ruined her chances of a better result (Photo courtesy Commonwealth Games)
A real mix of youth and experience, Northern Ireland's two-rider team in the XC Mountain Bike events at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow endured a tough day in the saddle yesterday, Wednesday.
Claire Oakley, the 20-year-old riding her first Games, came home in 15th place in the women's race, almost 19 minutes down on winner Catharine Pendrel who was taking Canada's third successive gold in the event.
She finished 1:10 ahead of team mate Emily Batty, with Rebecca Henderson of Australia in the bronze medal position just 12 seconds further back.
Oakley's chances of a higher placing were ruined when she punctured and rode the last sections of the race on a flat rear wheel.
Advertisement
In the men's event, Roger Aiken was among a large group of riders to finish a lap down.
The Banbridge CC man, who has been equally as impressive on the road and off-road down the years, finished in 26th position.
The scrap for the title was a very close run affair, with 19-year-old New Zealand rider Anton Cooper just about getting the better of team mate Samuel Gaze; leading him home by a mere three seconds.
Related News
The winner made his move from a small leading group on the last incline of the race to take the win. And while Gaze was only three seconds back, Daniel McConnell of Australia was third just seven seconds further adrift.
Only 23 seconds separated the top four, with Max Plaxton of Canada filling that fourth spot. After him, nearly three minutes elapsed by the time Scotland's Grant Ferguson took a very popular fifth place, some 3:09 behind the winner.
Commonwealth Games, Glasgow
Wed, July 30th: Mountain Bike Racing
Result: Men's Race
| 1 | Anton Cooper (New Zealand) | 1:38:26 |
| 2 | Samuel Gaze (New Zealand) | 0:00:03 |
| 3 | Daniel Mcconnell (Australia) | 0:00:10 |
| 4 | Max Plaxton (Canada) | 0:00:23 |
| 5 | Grant Ferguson (Scotland) | 0:03:09 |
| 6 | Liam Killeen (England) | 0:03:31 |
| 7 | Raphael Gagne (Canada) | 0:04:37 |
| 8 | Cameron Ivory (Australia) | 0:04:54 |
| 9 | Paul Oldham (England) | 0:05:03 |
| 10 | Kenta Gallagher (Scotland) | 0:05:19 |
| 11 | Gareth Montgomerie (Scotland) | 0:08:02 |
| 12 | Andy Blair (Australia) | 0:09:50 |
| 13 | Philip Buys (South Africa) | 0:10:08 |
| 14 | James Roe (Guernsey) | 0:12:20 |
| 15 | Yannick Lincoln (Mauritius) | 0:12:57 |
| 16 | Marios Athanasiadis (Cyprus) | 0:14:16 |
| 17 | Elliot Baxter (Isle of Man) | 0:14:40 |
| 18 | Heiko Redecker (Namibia) | 0:15:18 |
| 19 | Rhys Hidrio (Jersey) | @1 Lap |
| 20 | Christos Loizou (Cyprus) | |
| 21 | Phetetso Monese (Lesotho) | |
| 22 | Richard Tanguy (Jersey) | |
| 23 | James Patterson (Jersey) | |
| 24 | Samson Gichuru (Kenya) | |
| 25 | Michael Serafin (Guernsey) | |
| 26 | Roger Aiken (Northern Ireland) | |
| 27 | Sebastien Tyack (Mauritius) | |
| 28 | Teboho Khantsi (Lesotho) | |
| 29 | Anthony Muite (Kenya) | |
| 30 | Robert Barnes (Jam) | |
| 31 | William Kelly (Swaziland) | |
| 32 | Benard Kabiro (Kenya) | |
| 33 | Moshoeshoe Khumalo (Swaziland) | |
| DNS | Mataya Tsoyo (Malawi) | |
| DNS | Missi ThomasKathumba (Malawi) |
Result: Women's Race
| 1 | Catharine Pendrel (Canada) | 1:39:29 |
| 2 | Emily Batty (Canada) | 0:01:10 |
| 3 | Rebecca Henderson (Australia) | 0:01:22 |
| 4 | Annie Last (England) | 0:03:05 |
| 5 | Alice Barnes (England) | 0:03:58 |
| 6 | Karen Hanlen (New Zealand) | 0:04:02 |
| 7 | Lee Craigie (Scotland) | 0:04:07 |
| 8 | Kate Fluker (New Zealand) | 0:05:27 |
| 9 | Bethany Crumpton (England) | 0:06:35 |
| 10 | Mariske Strauss (South Africa) | 0:07:48 |
| 11 | Jessie Roberts (Scotland) | 0:08:03 |
| 12 | Peta Mullens (Australia) | 0:09:37 |
| 13 | Kerry Macphee (Scotland) | 0:10:19 |
| 14 | Tory Thomas (Australia) | 0:13:03 |
| 15 | Claire Oakley (Nir) | 0:18:58 |
| 16 | Vera Adrian (Namibia) | |
| 17 | Retha Harding (Swaziland) | |
| DNF | Aurelie Halbwach (Mauritius) | |
| DNF | Joyce Nyaruri (Kenya) | |
| DNF | Mary Mburu (Kenya) | |
| DNF | Mary Wanjiku Muchina (Kenya) |
Topics
