Australia finished off the cycling events at their home Commonwealth Games on Saturday by winning the men's road race; the country's 14th gold medal in cycling out of a total of 22 awarded across Track, Mountain Bike and Road. Steele von Hoff took the win in a sprint finish, ahead of Jonathan Mould of Wales and Clint Hendricks of South Africa.
The men rode nine laps of the 18.7 kilometre circuit around Currumbin Beach, south of Gold Coast. The course featured two climbs per lap and a winding route through suburban neighbourhoods.
Luke Rowe of Wales, who came to the Games straight from Paris-Roubaix, was the first to attack on the opening lap, but was quickly brought back. A subsequent attack by Thomas Stewart (England) with James McLaughlin (Guernsey) and Joseph Areruya (Rwanda) did get away, followed by a chase group of six.
The leaders managed to stretch their lead to nearly four minutes by lap 6, with the chasers slowly closing in on them. However, the Australian and New Zealand teams decided this was enough, and began reeling them in, eventually catching the final two riders - Stewart and McLaughlin - on the last lap.
Jack Bauer (New Zealand) tried an attack, but was quickly brought back, setting the stage for a sprint finish. Shane Archbold (New Zealand) started the sprint from a long way out into a head wind, with von Hoff on the wheel of team mate Cameron Meyer, the time trial winner earlier in the Games. Von Hoff came by on the left, taking the lead in the final 100 metres to win by a bike length.
Remarkably, von Hoff broke six vertebrae in a racing crash in Melbourne in February, but refused to give up his dream for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
"Six days after the crash I started training again on a recumbent," he said. "I just wanted to get my legs spinning. And then I thought, 'I have seven weeks until the Games so I'd better start training.'
"I don’t think I've absorbed it yet, but I will later on tonight. It wasn't looking good [in the last lap], it was me and Cam and the entire New Zealand team. I thought we couldn't do it but we just had to hang in tough, and it just so happened to be that we pulled it off."
THE HOLY WEEK - Excerpt from Cyclingnews Films on Vimeo.
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steele von Hoff (Australia) | 3:57:01 |
| 2 | Jonathan Mould (Wales) | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| 3 | Clint Hendricks (South Africa) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| 4 | Mark Downey (Northern Ireland) | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| 5 | Hayden Mccormick (New Zealand) | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| 6 | Shane Archbold New Zealand) | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| 7 | Tobyn Horton (Guernsey) | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| 8 | Thomas Stewart (England) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| 9 | Cameron Meyer (Australia) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Samuel Gaze (New Zealand) | 0:00:03 |
| 11 | James Oram (New Zealand) | 0:00:09 |
| 12 | Ian Bibby (England) | 0:00:11 |
| 13 | Jack Bauer (New Zealand) | 0:00:21 |
| 14 | Luke Rowe (Wales) | 0:00:53 |
| 15 | Andreas Miltiadis (Cyprus) | 0:00:57 |
| 16 | Jason Christie (New Zealand) | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
| 17 | Mark Stewart (Scotland) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
| 18 | Brendon Davids (South Africa) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
| 19 | Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya) | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
| 20 | Charles Kagimu (Uganda) | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
| 21 | Jean Claude Uwizeye (Rwanda) | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
| 22 | Cameron Orr (Northern Ireland) | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
| 23 | Didier Munyaneza (Rwanda) | 0:00:59 |
| 24 | Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (Rwanda) | 0:01:00 |
| 25 | Mathew Hayman (Australia) | 0:01:06 |
| 26 | Christopher Latham (England) | 0:02:07 |
| 27 | Bradley Potgieter (South Africa) | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
| 28 | Marc Potts (Northern Ireland) | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
| 29 | James Mclaughlin (Guernsey) | 0:02:10 |
| 30 | Christopher Rougier-Lagane Mauritius | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
| 31 | Dylan Kerfoot-Robson (Wales) | 0:02:34 |
| 32 | Jake Kelly (Isle of Man) | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
| 33 | Jack English (Guernsey) | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
| 34 | Leon Mazzone (Isle of Man) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
| 35 | Grant Ferguson (Scotland) | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
| 36 | Tristan De Lange (Namibia) | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
| 37 | Joseph Areruya (Rwanda) | 0:02:38 |
| 38 | Nicholas Dlamini (South Africa) | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
| 39 | Salim Kipkemboi (Kenya) | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
| 40 | Dan Craven (Namibia) | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
| 41 | Peter Kibble (Wales) | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
| 42 | Harry Tanfield (England) | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
| 43 | Mitchell Docker (Australia) | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
| 44 | Dirk Coetzee (Namibia) | 0:08:44 |
| 45 | Daniel Halksworth (Jersey) | 0:09:25 |
| 46 | Alexander Edmondson (Australia) | 0:09:35 |
| 47 | Callum Scotson (Australia) | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
| 48 | Michael Foley (Canada) | 0:10:58 |
| 49 | Alexandre Mayer (Mauritius) | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
| 50 | Tom Mazzone (Isle of Man) | 0:11:15 |
| DNF | Nathan Draper (Isle of Man) | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Nolan Hoffman (South Africa) | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Alexander Smyth (Malta) | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | James Roe (Guernsey) | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Rhys Hidrio (Jersey) | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Dylan Redy (Mauritius) | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Hasani Hennis (Anguilla) | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Kinjah David Njau (Kenya) | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Peter Gathere Waruiru (Kenya) | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Jean Paul René Ukiniwabo (Rwanda) | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Boakye Dankwa Anthony Boafo (Ghana) | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Martin Freyer (Namibia) | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Kyle Gordon (Scotland) | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Michael Testori (Cayman Islands) | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Oliver Wood (England) | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Oscar Quiroz (Belize) | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Rhys Britton (Wales) | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Jay Lamoureux (Canada) | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Jack Rebours (Jersey) | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Avishka Dilnuwan Mawathage (Sri Lanka) | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Derek Barbara (Gibraltar) | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Jyme Bridges (Antigua And Barbuda) | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Adam Blythe (England) | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Derek Gee (Canada) | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Valens Ndayisenga (Rwanda) | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Oliver Lowthorpe (Jersey) | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Sebastian Tremlett (Guernsey) | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Marcus Christie (Northern Ireland) | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Adam Jamieson (Canada) | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Matthew Bostock (Isle of Man) | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Jeffery Kelsick (Antigua And Barbuda) | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | David Treacy (Malta) | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Miguel Duarte (Mozambique) | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Malefetsane Lesofe (Lesotho) | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Trevor Zefal Bailey (Saint Vincent And The Grenadines) | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Abdul Razak Abdul Mumin (Ghana) | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Muzi Shabangu (Swaziland) | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Oshane Williams Jamaica) | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Gregory Rougier-Lagane (Mauritius) | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Abdulrazak Unmar (Ghana) | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Giovanni Lovell (Belize) | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Bram Sanderson (Dominica) | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Gerry Albert (Seychelles) | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Ssekanga Viena (Uganda) | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Sam Brand (Isle of Man) | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Saleem Romney (Anguilla) | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Mduduzi Zwane (Swaziland) | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Gcina Banda (Swaziland) | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Benjaman Lewis (Saint Vincent And The Grenadines) | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Michael Serafin (Guernsey) | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Aidan Caves (Canada) | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Xeno Young (Northern Ireland) | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Joseph Sheriff (Gibraltar) | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Nissan Arana (Belize) | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Richard Jeff Esparon (Seychelles) | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Zambezi Richardson (Anguilla) | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Sherwin Osborne (Anguilla) | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Jay Major (Bahamas) | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Anthony Colebrook (Bahamas) | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Alie Kamara (Sierra Leone) | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Mahmoud Keita (Sierra Leone) | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Huekhwami Hughes (Anguilla) | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Chamika Weerappulige (Sri Lanka) | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Julian Bellido (Gibraltar) | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Stephen Alberto Belle (Seychelles) | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
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