Devon Briggs cycles big for Glasgow gold
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Devon Briggs shone on an otherwise dull day for the New Zealand cyclists when he rode superbly to win the gold medal in the para C1-C3 1000m track time trial. Shortly after, Sami Donnelly claimed silver medal in the women's 10km scratch race.
The Cambridge cyclist was the last of the six competitors to race and he looked a winner throughout his ride.
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He attacked relentlessly and never faltered, eventually recording 1min 05.536s. Once times had been factored to take account of the riders' various disabilities, he still won by 1.825s from Australian Gordon Allan, with Scot Fin Graham third.
Briggs, 22, said he wanted to go out and set a really good time. 'Obviously I did that and I'm really proud. I wanted to leave it all on the track.'
He said it was a very emotional moment when he looked up and saw number '1' beside his name.'There's such a lot that's gone into this, a lot of preparation, coming back from injury pre-Paris [2024 Paralympics]. It's been a long 10 years but a good 10 years.'
And when he saw he'd won? 'A lot of relief, excitement. I wanted to cry on the podium, thinking about my Mum and Dad and friends all watching back home. It's been an awesome experience'.
Briggs said he hoped his gold medal would provide inspiration for others. 'With or without a disability, there's no barrier stopping anyone from doing something great.'
Meanwhile Donnelly fought her way to a bronze medal in the gruelling women's 10km scratch race. A few minutes later there was yet more excitement when she was upgraded to a silver a disqualification.
The other New Zealanders in the 23-strong field were Pru Fowler, who came 16th, and Ally Wollaston, who was 18th.
The leading group changed throughout the race but over the last couple of laps Donnelly snuck through on the inside, where she was boxed, but also behind the fastest riders. No late challenge came from the outside and she was able to claim a medal, after a clever and courageous ride.
With the top two to progress, Sam Dakin struggled in his heat of the keirin, finishing fifth. Dakin had another shot at it in the repechage, where, needing to win to advance, he was outmanoeuvred and placed fourth.
Bryony Botha, given a reprieve in the women's individual pursuit when she was advanced to the semi-finals after an Australian rider was disqualified, raced off against Scot Erin Boothman, who'd come out on top in their earlier race.
With the bronze medal at stake, Botha stuck much closer to the Scot this time for most of the journey, but faltered over the final 1000 metres and lost by 1.2s. Botha clocked 4min 31.49s, compared to Boothman's 4min 30.251.
In the men's elimination race, Tom Sexton went closest to a medal, being eliminated when there were only four riders remaining. Keegan Hornblow lasted until the final six, while George Jackson was eliminated relatively early.