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."

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