Gilmore takes gold for Australia

Rochelle Gilmore won the sprint and so took the gold medal in the women’s road race at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

Gilmore is an accomplished sprinter and waited for the finish before edging out England’s Lizzie Armistead and fellow Australian Chloe Hosking. Gilmore ended the race covered in dirt from the smog and roads but was happy to have final won a prestigious title after so many placing in races over the years.

"I just stayed out of trouble," Gilmore said. "I was more conscious of beating the people in front of me than those behind me."

Gilmore's gold medal was the thirteenth for Australia in cycling after they dominated the events on the track, winning 12 of the 14 events.

Pre-race favorite and former Commonwealth Games champion Nicole Cooke of Wales finished fifth after her usual aggressive race.

Linda Villumsen of New Zealand also tried to break up the race but was kept in check by the strong Australian and English teams. Villumsen's teammate Catherine Cheatley tried to break away twice on the last lap, including a last ditch attack in the final kilometre, but she was caught as Australia rode to perfectly set-up Gilmore.

Gilmore joy was contrasted by Armistead’s disappointment. She believed she started her sprint a little too late.

"I just felt like I let the girls down a little bit," Armitstead told the BBC. "They did a really good job today.”

“It was our first try at a lead out and they had to do a little bit too much too soon and I waited a little bit. I hesitated, because I wanted the job to get done right until the line. I should have made the split decision to get on a wheel instead because they'd just done too much.”

"They did a perfect job, we could have just done with the line being a bit closer. But for our first attempt as a team - we've not even tried it in training - I'm really impressed and I think we can only get better. Come London we should be a forced to be reckoned with."

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)2:49:30
2Elizabeth Armitstead (England)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Chloe Hosking (Australia)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Joanne Kiesanowski (New Zealand)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Nicole Cooke (Wales)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Joelle Numainville (Canada)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Tara Alice Whitten (Canada)Row 6 - Cell 2
8Carla Swart (South Africa)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Melissa Holt (New Zealand)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Cherise Taylor (South Africa)Row 9 - Cell 2
11Kaytee Boyd (New Zealand)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Victoria Whitelaw (Australia)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Erinne Willock (Canada)Row 12 - Cell 2
14Lucy Martin (England)Row 13 - Cell 2
15Anne Samplonius (Canada)Row 14 - Cell 2
16Katie Colclough (England)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Kate Cullen (Scotland)0:00:08
18Megan Dunn (Australia)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Heather Wilson (Northern Ireland)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Eileen Roe (Scotland)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Anriette Schoeman (South Africa)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Leah Kirchmann (Canada)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Rushlee Buchanan (New Zealand)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Claire Thomas (Scotland)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Catherine Cheatley (New Zealand)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Linda Villumsen (New Zealand)Row 25 - Cell 2
27Alexis Rhodes (Australia)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Sharon Laws (England)0:00:15
29Robyn De Groot (South Africa)0:00:17
30Aurelie Marie Halbwachs (Mauritius)0:00:19
31Pippa Handley (Scotland)0:00:23
32Ruth Corset (Australia)0:00:27
33Emma Trott (England)0:00:47
34Emma Pooley (England)0:00:49
35Jane Barr (Scotland)0:01:02
36Julie Beveridge (Canada)Row 35 - Cell 2
37Anne Ewing (Scotland)0:05:16
38Ann Bowditch (Guernsey)0:19:14
DNFLily Matthews (Wales)Row 38 - Cell 2
DNFRejani Vijaya Kumari (India)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNFLasanthi Gunathilaka (Sri Lanka)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNFPana Choudhary (India)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNFKara Chesworth (Wales)Row 42 - Cell 2
DNFMarissa Van Der Merwe (South Africa)Row 43 - Cell 2
DNFMahitha Mohan (India)Row 44 - Cell 2
DNFJess Allen (Wales)Row 45 - Cell 2
DNFJoyce Nyaruri (Kenya)Row 46 - Cell 2
DNFClaire Louise Fraser (Guyana)Row 47 - Cell 2
DNFAngharad Mason (Wales)Row 48 - Cell 2
DNFSuchitra Devi Konsam (India)Row 49 - Cell 2
DNFJane Wachuka Kamau (Kenya)Row 50 - Cell 2
DNFHadijah Najjuko (Uganda)Row 51 - Cell 2
DNFMarion Ayebale (Uganda)Row 52 - Cell 2
DNFSharon Wambui Kiragu (Kenya)Row 53 - Cell 2
DNFSunita Devi Yanglem (India)Row 54 - Cell 2
DNFShalini Zabaneh (Belize)Row 55 - Cell 2
DNFRenu Balu (India)Row 56 - Cell 2
DNSWendy Houvenaghel (Northern Ireland)Row 57 - Cell 2

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Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.

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