Armitstead wins Commonwealth gold in cycling road race

GLASGOW: England claimed a one-two in the women´s road race as Lizzie Armitstead went one better than New Dehli to claim gold.It was a historic moment for Armitstead as she won England´s 2000th Commonwealth Games medal. Only Australia have won more.

The 25-year-old finished the 98.14km course ahead of teammate Emma Pooley who added another silver to the one she won in the time trial.

A photo finish saw South Africa´s Ashleigh Pasio claim her country´s first road race medal as she just edged Australia´s Tiffany Cromwell for bronze following a dramatic sprint to the line.

For Armitstead, the win allows her to banish the memories of finishing second in New Dehli and at the London 2012 Olympics.

"I can call myself a champion finally. It´s special and something I´ve always dreamed about," Armitstead said. "I just feel like I deserve this and I´ve trained so hard. I´m always on the podium but I don´t win too many races."

The 25-year-old owes her gold in no small part to the selfless riding of teammate Pooley, who led a breakaway with 40km to go. Armitstead then attacked 6km from the line to go clear as the English team tactics worked to perfection.

"Emma had a fantastic race and was so strong throughout. I´m really grateful to her for all the sacrificing she did," Armitstead said.

Pooley was delighted to finish second in her final race before retiring.
"My job was to make the race hard and to come out with a silver medal is obviously fantastic and unexpected as well," the 31-year-old said. (AFP)