Australian cycling star Grace Brown has dominated the women’s time trial in Wolverhampton to claim her first Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Key points:
- Brown stopped the clock in 40:05.20
- Teammates Georgia Baker and Sarah Roy finished fourth and ninth
- Brown was fourth in the time trial at the Tokyo Olympics
Brown was the pre-race favorite and clocked 40 minutes and 5.2 seconds over the 28.8 kilometer course.
England’s Anna Henderson was second in 40:38.55 and New Zealand’s Georgia Williams won the bronze medal in 41:25.27.
Brown’s Australian teammate Georgia Baker and Sarah Roy were fourth and ninth respectively.
Brown had a slip of the foot to start with but quickly recovered and grabbed two early starts en route to Australia’s first gold medal of the Games.
She raced just four days after finishing the Tour de France Femmes.
“I’m not exactly sure what I did, but I think the starter let me go a little earlier than I expected,” Brown said of his choppy start.
“It’s very, very satisfying. I tried not to take too much pressure from being the favorite today – to stay calm and focus on what I have to do.
“Also knowing that I have a Tour de France in my legs, I’m very happy that I was able to execute what was expected of me and I had a good ride out there.”
Brown finished fourth in the time trial at the Tokyo Olympics and has taken his career to another level over the past two years.
He received a plaque for competing as a member of Team FDJ in the Tour de France and now has more hardware.
“I think I need to invest in a trophy cabinet now,” he said.
FDJ had a tumultuous Tour, losing Marta Cavalli to a crash during the chaotic second stage, before Cecilie Ludwig took a memorable stage win the following day.
“The Tour de France was so packed, in every way,” Brown said.
“I thought I was coming in almost the best shape of the race, but everyone was, and the race was really tough.
“So what I expected of myself, I didn’t quite live up to, but it’s paid dividends now because I’ve come into the Commonwealth Games in really good shape.”
Australian Rohan Dennis and Welsh star Geraint Thomas are the favorites for the men’s time trial which took place on Thursday afternoon.
AAP