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2006 Commonwealth Games - JR
Melbourne, Australia, March 16-26, 2006
Main Page Results Race Details Previous event Next Event
March 21: Men’s road time trial
O'Neill rides to gold as Day takes 'beautiful' silver
By Mal Sawford in Melbourne
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The Australian men's team couldn't match the clean sweep completed by the women in the morning; despite US-based professional Nathan O'Neill (Health Net) destroying the course to finish the 40 kilometres in under 49 minutes, and Ben Day of the Portuguese Carvalhelhos-Boavista team taking silver; the Australian team did not enter a third rider! New Zealand claimed the only non-Australian time trial medal of the games through the efforts of Gordon McCauley who finished almost a minute behind the two Aussies.
Just as Oenone Wood, the women's winner had done earlier in the day, O'Neill opened a commanding lead on the outward leg to the bayside suburb of Mentone. Into a stiff headwind that had blown up since the relatively calm conditions the women enjoyed in the morning, O'Neill opened a 42 second advantage over his team mate, with McCauley and Northern Ireland teammates Michael Hutchinson and David McGann the only other riders left in medal contention. "I like the tough conditions so I was pleased when the wind got up" O'Neill said later.
Day's return leg proved to be the fastest and he finished in 49:01.67, which
confirmed his hold on the silver medal. As the final starter, O'Neill had the
benefit of Day's split times, and matched the Queenslander's speed to the second
over the undulating section of the course, leaving him with the same 42 second
advantage up his sleeve for the final flat dash to the line from the 35 kilometre
check point.
Understandably, O'Neill eased a fraction in the final stretch, and treated spectators
at the finish line to the rare sight of a time trialist celebrating a win with
a victory salute! O'Neill caught his minute man, Svein Tuft (Canada) before
the turn around, and then picked off well credentialed chrono riders David George
(South Africa) and Stuart Dangerfield (England) on the return leg.
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The first of 72 riders off recorded an impressive time which made a mockery of his ranking for the event. Kenyan Christopher Froome stopped the clock in 53.58.01, a time which kept him on top of the standings for almost an hour as the next forty-nine starters failed to better his effort! Kiwi Logan Hutchings was next to impress, lowering the time to beat by two minutes, but his hopes of a gold medal were short lived when the next rider home, Paul Manning (England) came in faster.
New Zealand went back to the top of the leaderboard with Peter Latham's 51:21.73, but before Latham had a chance to get comfortable in the 'hot seat', Hutchinson failed by just five seconds to beat the 50 minute barrier. Day was the first rider under 50 minutes with an impressive 49:01.67, which stood as the best time until O'Neill's winning ride. The battle for the bronze saw McCauley better a disappointed Hutchinson's time by fifteen seconds, and McGann fall ten seconds short of his teammate to finish fifth.
O'Neill described his ride in typically down-to-earth terms. "It was very quick, I didn't expect it to be so fast, especially with the head wind at the start," he said after the finish - the head wind didn't affect him much. "I like the tough conditions. I just settle in with a nice high cadence early and try to hang on," he added.
It took a bit of 'negotiation' for O'Neill to get permission from his US-based Health Net team to ride the time trial at the Commonwealth Games, but the Australian time trial champion made the short trip count There won't be much time to celebrate, though. A beer this evening was in the offing, but tomorrow O'Neill returns to the US and will be racing there by Friday. "It was a hit and run mission but at least I can enjoy the moment today. That's racing and that's what I do," he said.
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Runner-up Ben Day was perfectly happy with the silver medal. "I always knew Nathan was going to be hard to beat," he said. "He started really well, and I brought it home really quickly. There were a few stressful moments there! I just want to congratulate Nathan." For Day, the biggest buzz was to race in front of a huge home crowd. "When you're racing in front of Australia it's awesome. The crowd support, family and friends are incredible and it's been a beautiful day. It's great to catch the sun again!"
Gordon McCauley can take some consolation that he salvaged a disappointing outing for the New Zealand team, coming out of semi-retirement to target the Commonwealth Games time trial and to ride for the US Monex team. "I've come here to win a medal and that's the fastest I've ever ridden 40 kilometres," he said. "All my training was geared to a sub-50 minute ride. I actually rode out above my target heart rate of 170 beats. I was up around 180-182 beats per minute but I just thought 'Oh bollocks, just go with it!'"
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mark Gunter/www.pbase.com/gunterphotograph
- Nathan O'Neill (Australia) was a power house today
- Ben Day (Australia) putting everything into it
- Gordon McCauley (New Zealand) doing it for the Kiwis
- Nathan O'Neill (Australia) on way to gold
- Green and gold
- David McCann (Ireland) in good technique
- Paul Manning (England) had a go
- Alex Coutts (Scotland) gave his all
- Nathan O'Neill (Australia) on the winners podium
- Nathan O'Neill (Australia) with the other place getters
- Nathan O'Neill (Australia) feeling content
Images by Mal Sawford/Cyclingnews
- Hedson Mathieu shows off the Seychelles spectacular team kit
- Etienne Bonello (Malta) passes Yannick Lincoln (Mauritius)
- Poloko Makara (Lesotho) riding his new bike
- Julian Bellido of Gibraltar made the long trip to Australia
- James Malako of Zambia tackles one of the short climbs
- Not all riders have the latest in time trial technology: this is Percival Navolo of Fiji
- Tyler Butterfield (Bermuda) up close and personal
- Neil Thomas (British Virgin Islands) had a very vocal coach urging him on
- Robert Marsh (Antigua & Barbuda) in action
- Imran Sharif (Pakistan) buries his head
- Tinga Turner - the Jamaican competitor
- Logan Hutchings was the first to better the long standing opening time
- Philip Clarke (Barbados) about to be caught by Jonathan Massie (Bahamas) and Paul Manning (England)
- Peter Latham (New Zealand) briefly held the best time
- Michael Hutchinson (Northern Ireland) narrowly missed a medal
- Ben Day heads to the silver medal
- Gordon McCauley won the bronze medal for New Zealand
- David McCann (Northern Ireland) virtually disappears behind his aero helmet
- O’Neill may not have the lowest profile, but he gets the job done!
- Gold medallist Nathan O’Neill a picture of concentration
Images by Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
- Heading under the bridge on the esplanade in St.Kilda during the men's time trial at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games
- Damien Foukou Tekou (Cameroon) on a lonely ride against the clock in Melbourne
- Crowds took advantage of elevated viewing points along the beach road in St.Kilda for the time trial
- Drafting is not permitted in time trials…but what about behind your own shadow?
- Here comes another one in the men's time trial in St.Kilda, Melbourne
- Julian Bellido from Gibraltar heads along the St.Kilda esplanade during the 49km time trial
- The volunteers at the Melbourne Games have been sensational and here take the chance to cheer on competitors in the time trial
- Logan Hutchings of New Zealand makes his way 'all along the watchtower'
- Paul Manning of England powers himself while an Aussie flag protects a fan from the heat of the sun
- Andrew Roche of Ireland, perhaps inspiring others to ride like the wind?
- Peter Latham of New Zealand in action during the men's time trial
- Arno Viljoen of Namibia climbs a small rise just prior to the finish
- Matt Brammeier of Wales just after leaving the starting gate in St.Kilda
- Matt Brammeier (Wales) against the clock in the men's time trial
- New Zealander Gordon McCauley riding towards a bronze medal in the time trial
- Irishman David McCann won the time trial in the 2005 Herald Sun Tour but would have liked some hills in this ride against the clock
- 2006 Tour de Langkawi winner David George of South Africa is well forward in the saddle early into his ride
- Svein Tuft of Canada was the second last rider to leave the starting gate in St.Kilda
- Australian Nathan O'Neill was a hot favourite to take gold and didn't let his supporters down
- The Commonwealth Games are wearing out more than just the competitors!
- Nathan O'Neil (Australia) takes the gold medal on the big screen as a section of the huge crowd look on
- A boxing kangaroo and the New Zealand flag greet the medal winners at the presentation
- A proud Gordon McCauley (New Zealand) after claiming the bronze medal in the time trial
- Ben Day made it a great day when he won the silver medal in the time trial
- The medal winners salute the huge crowd that gathered for the ceremony
- The happy medal winners (L-R): Gordon McCauley (New Zealand, 3rd), Nathan O'Neil (Australia, 1st), and Ben Day (Australia, 2nd)
- Ben Day (R) and Nathan O'Neill sign autographs for the crowd after claiming silver and gold respectively
- Number one, Nathan O'Neill, a gold medal winner and an audience awaits
Images by Rob Jones/www.canadiancyclist.com
- Nathan O'Neill
- Ben Day (Australia) silver
- Gordon McCauley (New Zealand) bronze
- Who is this masked man?
- Peter Latham (New Zealand), 8th
- Zach Bell (Canada) 13th
- Paul Manning (England) 9th
- Nathan O'Neill with 1 K to go - he knew he had it
- Peter Latham had mechanical problems in the first kilometre, but still managed 8th
- Zach Bell (Canada)
- Svein Tuft (Canada) 7th
- Gordon McCauley came back from a broken wrist to take the bronze
- David George (Republic of South Africa)
- Stuart Dangerfield (England) 6th
- Nathan O'Neill (Australia) had been the favourite, and he did not disappoint.
- Ben Day, Nathan O'Neill, Gordon McCauley
- Gordon McCauley, Nathan O'Neill, Ben Day
Results
1 Nathan O'Neill (Australia) 48.37.29 2 Ben Day (Australia) 0.24.38 3 Gordon McCauley (New Zealand) 1.13.41 4 Michael Hutchinson (Northern Ireland) 1.28.07 5 David McCann (Northern Ireland) 1.37.90 6 Stuart Dangerfield (England) 2.19.71 7 Svein Tuft (Canada) 2.32.37 8 Peter Latham (New Zealand) 2.44.44 9 Paul Manning (England) 3.05.56 10 David Harold George (Republic of South Africa) 3.11.45 11 Andrew Roche (Isle Of Man) 3.18.87 12 Logan Hutchings (New Zealand) 3.18.94 13 Zachary Michael Bell (Canada) 3.30.16 14 Stephen Cummings (England) 3.33.29 15 Jeremy Paul Maartens (Republic of South Africa) 4.51.86 16 Ryan Connor (Northern Ireland) 4.57.53 17 Christopher Clive Froome (Kenya) 5.20.72 18 Dan Craven (Namibia) 5.45.84 19 Duncan Urquhart (Scotland) 5.48.19 20 Matt Brammeier (Wales) 6.21.61 21 Jacques Celliers (Namibia) 6.32.05 22 Giocondo Schiavone (Malta) 6.35.47 23 Graeme Ian Hatcher (Isle Of Man) 7.02.29 24 Arno Viljoen (Namibia) 7.11.85 25 Etienne Bonello (Malta) 7.24.92 26 Sam Firby (Jersey) 7.37.81 27 Shahrul Neeza Mohd Razalli (Malaysia) 7.51.91 28 Alex Coutts (Scotland) 7.54.06 29 Hedson Mathieu (Seychelles) 8.09.18 30 Andrew William James Cook (Isle Of Man) 8.16.57 31 David Kinjah (Kenya) 8.26.84 32 Yannick Lincoln (Mauritius) 8.29.33 33 Colin Mayer (Mauritius) 8.29.85 34 Christopher Walker (Gibraltar) 8.53.10 35 Julian Bellido (Gibraltar) 9.05.53 36 Muhammad Fauzan Ahmad Lufti (Malaysia) 9.51.61 37 Tinga Turner (Jamaica) 10.34.26 38 Vinesh Lal (Fiji) 10.36.20 39 Sigurd Haveland (Gibraltar) 10.44.47 40 Jonathan David Massie (Bahamas) 10.55.39 41 Charles Bryan (Anguilla) 10.55.82 42 Kris Pradel (Anguilla) 10.58.61 43 Sadrac Teguimaha (Cameroon) 11.23.86 44 Duke Perrigoff Merren (Cayman Islands) 12.05.59 45 Martinien Tega (Cameroon) 12.07.53 46 Imran Sharif (Pakistan) 12.14.38 47 Muhammad Saleem (Pakistan) 12.21.12 48 Robert Frances Marsh (Antigua & Barbuda) 12.30.21 49 Damien Tekou Foukou (Cameroon) 12.37.30 50 Ronnie Bryan (Anguilla) 12.48.28 51 Davidson Kamau Kihagi (Kenya) 13.03.44 52 Barron Musgrove (Bahamas) 13.07.50 53 Philip Clarke (Barbados) 13.25.12 54 Ken Manassah Jackson (Antigua & Barbuda) 14.43.63 55 Lynn Byron Murray (Antigua & Barbuda) 14.51.09 56 Neil Thomas (British Virgin Islands) 14.56.70 57 Hilarry Moono Ng'ake (Zambia) 16.03.34 58 James Malako (Zambia) 16.24.63 59 Tumisang Taabe (Lesotho) 16.27.98 60 Poloko Makara (Lesotho) 16.56.02 61 David Matovu Kigongo (Uganda) 18.44.36 62 Percival Navolo (Fiji) 18.57.17 63 Rajendra Singh (Fiji) 19.36.20 64 David Magezi (Uganda) 19.41.36 65 Mohamed Sesay (Sierra Leone) 19.41.92 66 Moeketsi Makatile (Lesotho) 19.48.21 67 Alhassan Bangura (Sierra Leone) 19.50.72 DNF Ian Smith (Belize) DNS Tyler Barbour Butterfield (Bermuda)
