Sam Gaze has defended his Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham, winning the men's cross country mountain bike race early on Thursday morning with fellow New Zealander Ben Oliver joining him on the podium.
After the sprint start at Cannock Chase Forest, Gaze got himself to the front of the 26-man field early in the race with fellow Kiwi Oliver sitting behind him in second. Scotland's Charlie Aldridge and Cameron Orr of Northern Ireland were the chasing duo with the Kiwis as the quartet opened up a lead on the rest of the pack.
Completing the first lap, the two Kiwis managed to break away from the European duo for a six second lead but there was still plenty of racing left to do - seven laps of the 4.8km course to be precise.
The Kiwi duo continued to work together to push further away from the rest of the competition with Gaze sitting in front for the opening two laps as Oliver applied pressure right behind him.
Heading into the third lap, the Kiwis had opened up a 23 second lead on Aldridge and Orr with the pack further back starting to break apart as well.
With a quick glance to each other as they begun the third lap, Oliver went ahead of Gaze to take some time leading the duo - teamwork that isn't as prominent or necessary in mountain biking as other cycling disciplines but still a sign of Kiwi comradery to work towards two medals.
The Kiwis added another eight seconds to their lead over the chasing pack heading into the fourth lap as England's Joseph Blackmore joined Aldridge and Orr in the battle for a potential bronze.
Gaze took the lead back for the fourth lap and made a small attack on the back section of the track to open a small lead over Oliver, potentially getting a gauge on what areas he could look to make his gold-winning move from later in the race.
The race continued to progress along in similar fashion for the next lap with the Kiwis taking turns in the lead and extending the gap but further back there was heartbreak for Aldridge who slipped near the finish line and broke his bike chain in the process, ending his ride after a promising attack moments before appeared to put him in prime position for the bronze.
Gaze then made his attack on the sixth lap, opening up a nine second lead through the first section of the course before blowing it out to a 25 second lead by the end of the lap. Oliver was a full minute ahead of Orr and Blackmore though in second, meaning it would take something drastic for the top two places to be altered heading into the final quarter of the competition.
The bell rung for the final lap of the race with Gaze comfortably in control, 42 seconds ahead of Oliver and a whopping two minutes and 18 seconds in front of the battle for bronze.
Gaze rode home comfortably for the win, relaxing in the final moments of the race to soak up his defence as he waited for Oliver to join him.
The result will be bittersweet viewing for fellow Kiwi mountain biker Anton Cooper who earlier this week had to withdraw from the competition due to Covid after winning two medals - including a gold, in the past two Commonwealth Games.
In a superb final lap attack, Namibia's Alexander Miller came home for bronze ahead of Orr and Blackmore.
SHARE ME