Cycling gold proud moment for parents
A RAISED hand as Commonwealth Games gold medallist Corbin Strong crossed the finish line of the 15km scratch race in London early yesterday was the signal for his parents Alan and Raewyn, at home in Invercargill, to start the celebrations.
Alan Strong said his initial reaction as the race finished was ‘‘quite subdued’’, as it was hard to tell which cyclist was which.
‘‘When they got the lap up on the field and were coming into the finishing lap, it was very hard to distinguish between one Scotsman and another, and we weren’t 100% sure when he hit the line whether there was a Scotsman he needed to beat to get gold or whether it was somebody else.
‘‘So it wasn’t until his hand was raised that we sort of got a bit excited then.’’
Strong launched a bold attack early in the race with Scotland’s John Archibold and Wales’ William Roberts, taking the rest of the field by surprise and lapping the main group of riders with 10 laps ahead of them.
Mr Strong said Corbin had called the day before and said he would have to attack the race differently with a bit more aggression than usual.
‘‘So we sort of knew what the race plan was, and it was just whether or not it was going to stick.’’
Mrs Strong was simply relieved after having witnessed an earlier crash at the Games which launched a cyclist into the London crowd.
Once it was was over ‘‘then it was ‘holy, they’ve just won that!’’’.
Mrs Strong said their neighbours came down to celebrate and they toasted the win with carrot juice.
Speaking to their son, they had time for a quick ‘‘hello and well done’’ before he got in a night’s rest before the next race.
‘‘He’s pretty much just on to the next thing. He rides for a world tour team so he’s got a couple of big tours coming up and yeah, it’s pretty much just move on. Just another day at work,’’ Mrs Strong said.
A keen fellow cyclist, Mr Strong said it had been satisfying to see Corbin and his brother Hayden, who is also cycling at a high level abroad, perform so well.
‘‘[I’m] just so, so proud that they are happy doing what they love to do,’’ Mrs Strong said.
‘‘And whether they get accolades from anywhere else, you just want the kids to be happy. He’s certainly doing that and making us very proud in the process.’’
Cycling Southland development coach Glen Thompson said the win was fantastic.
‘‘He’s just such a tenacious bloke, like there’s nothing holds him back. He went after anything that moved in that race to make sure that he didn’t miss out and he certainly didn’t in the end.’’
Retired Velodrome events manager Bruce Ross has overseen the progress of several Southland cyclists, including the Strong brothers, and said it was remarkable watching their development.
‘‘It’s good to see how they’ve come through the ranks over the years, put in the hard work, and are now getting the . . . the accolades they deserve for the performances.’’
BIRMINGHAM: Invercargill rider Corbin Strong secured New Zealand’s sixth track cycling gold medal at the Commonwealth Games after producing an upset performance in the men’s 15km scratch race.
Strong, whose previous best result was winning the points race at the 2020 world championships, launched a bold attack alongside John Archibold (Scotland) and William Roberts (Wales) with 43 laps left to run in the race.
The attack seemed to take the rest of the peloton by surprise as they failed to put together any sign of a counterattack until it was too late.
The result was that, with 10 laps to go, Strong’s group lapped the main group of riders, leaving them as the sole medal contenders.
It was at that stage Kiwi teammates Campbell Stewart and George Jackson mucked in to do their best to help Strong; initially giving him a chance to rest his legs somewhat in their draft, before positioning him superbly to sprint to the finish line and a gold medal.
‘‘It’s a dream really,’’ Strong told Sky Sport.
‘‘I raced really well. It’s an awesome experience. I’m really happy to be at my first Commonwealth Games and for my debut race to finish like this is pretty awesome.’’
Strong said his game plan was to be aggressive and try to push the pace of the peloton to separate himself from some of the pure sprinters in the field.
‘‘I’ve come off the road — I might not have as good track legs as some other people — so I really wanted to race aggressive and take it from the start and really make it a hard race.
‘‘I thought that would play into my strengths at the moment and that’s the way it panned out.’’
New Zealand teammate Stewart had nothing but praise for Strong’s effort, saying it was a flawless ride.
‘‘He raced superbly,’’ Stewart said.
‘‘Corbin was strong, went on the attack, made the right moves and he was perfect all day and we made sure he was in the best place possible for the finish.
‘‘He probably could have done it by himself, but it’s always better with teammates.’’
Earlier, Rebecca Petch was in line for a bronze medal with just one rider remaining in the women’s 500m time trial, after a superb ride.
However, that remaining rider was Kristina Clonan, who set a Commonwealth Games record to claim gold by 0.06sec over Kelsey Mitchell, with Petch bumped to fourth.
Callum Saunders, Sam Webster and Sam Dakin all bowed out early in the men’s sprint.
Saunders was the first to go, finishing 17th in the qualification round which meant he missed the cutoff by just one place, edged out by Webster who took the 16th and final spot.
Webster was then quickly sent packing by keirin gold medallist Nicholas Paul in the quarterfinals, before Dakin, who was New Zealand’s top qualifier in 10th, was beaten by 0.037sec by Shah Sharom to leave all the Kiwis to watch on from the sidelines for the remainder of the competition.
The Kiwi trio in the 25km women’s points race also missed out on the medals, despite some combative rides.
Michaela Drummond, Bryony Botha and Emily Shearman all managed to take a lap on the field in the 100lap race, but none could accumulate the extra points required in the sprints held every 10 laps to get on to the podium.
Drummond was the closest, being in the mix until the final laps, but the three leaders peeled off the front in the final laps and mopped up the remaining points.
Australian rider Georgia Baker won gold on 55 points, ahead of Scotland’s Neah Evans (36) and Welsh rider Eluned King (32).
Drummond finished in fifth on 27 points, Botha eighth with 23, and Shearman ninth with 22.