Cuminestown cyclist Neah Evans reflected on a ‘painful’ ending in the women’s 10km scratch race final at the Commonwealth Games.
In the closing stages at the Lee Valley VeloPark, London, the Aberdeenshire star – second in the same event at Gold Coast 2018 – hit the front in a bid for glory, but had to settle for fourth place in a pulsating finish which saw English cycling icon Laura Kenny come through as the winner.
New Zealand’s Michaela Drummond was second and Canadian Maggie Coles-Lyster was third.
Speaking just after the dramatic finale, 32-year-old Evans – who had already claimed 25km points race silver and 3,000m individual pursuit bronze in Birmingham – said: “It was so close, yet so far. It started hitting up with 10 (laps) to go and I knew that was going to be it and we set off again.
“You just have to be so on it and there was a move off the front, and I thought: ‘this is it, go with it’.
“It was a bit far out just to really go, because I knew the others would be rushing on to my wheel. I hesitated and shouldn’t have. It was painfully close.
“I went into it wanting to win and I said I would gamble coming away with nothing, which is unfortunately what happened.
“I would have been happy to sprint (closer to the end), but the way it occurred, I just felt it was too good an opportunity to miss.
“It is so easy to say: ‘I should have waited or done this or that’. At the heat of the moment, that’s what I decided to do and today it didn’t work out. Such is racing.”
Despite the disappointment over the scratch race, Evans – an Olympic silver medallist in the team pursuit at last year’s delayed Tokyo Games alongside Kenny – is reasonably satisfied with Commonwealths haul, having now won four track medals in the blue and white of Scotland, adding: “To say before I came here I’d get two medals, I’d have taken that success.
“In the heat of the moment, it was so close here. In each race, I think: ‘had I done that differently…’, but that’s the way it goes.
“It’s the nature of track racing – it’s bitter-sweet. But I’m in a good place. We have the Europeans coming up and then the Worlds only six weeks after that, so it’s enough frustration I’ll keep my foot on the gas and get some good results at Euros and Worlds.”
North-east racer Evans may yet add to her Birmingham medal tally away from the track, as she is scheduled to compete in both the individual time trial and road race later in the week.
‘One more roll of the dice’ paid off
Victorious Kenny, 30, Great Britain’s most successful female Olympian with five golds, was considering quitting the sport after suffering a miscarriage, followed by an ectopic pregnancy, in recent months.
Speaking a decade on from winning two Olympic golds at the same home venue, she revealed she told her husband Jason this was to be her final race.
She said: “I can’t believe it. I said to Jase: ‘I think this is going to be my last race’.”
“I watched (swimmer) Adam Peaty completely reflect in his interview and I thought: ‘that is me all over’.
“I’ve lost the spark, training doesn’t come that easy. Every day I’m like: ‘here we go again’.
“I’ve been through three Olympic cycles now. To keep picking yourself up after this whole year has been a nightmare. I have absolutely just lost motivation.
“Then last night I was messaging my new coach Len and I was like: ‘no, I’m not giving up, I have one more roll of the dice – please just help me’. It could not have been better set up if I tried.”
Many cycling races were rescheduled after a nasty crash in qualifying for the men’s 15km scratch race on Sunday as England’s Matt Walls and his bike were thrown over the barrier and into the crowd
Kyle Gordon from Alness was caught up in that incident which injured two spectators and saw the Isle of Man’s Matt Bostock and Canada’s Derek Gee taken to hospital.
Gordon suffered a shoulder injury, forcing him out of Sunday’s scratch race final, as well as the 40km points race on Monday.
Earlier in the Games, the 34-year-old finished an admirable fifth in the 4,000m individual pursuit.
Bell aiming to improve after Games debut
Meanwhile, Forres track cyclist Lauren Bell missed the chance to compete for a keirin medal on Monday, but thinks she’s gained valuable experience on her Commonwealth Games debut.
The 23-year-old finished third in her early afternoon first round race behind Canadian Kelsey Mitchell and Alessia’s McCaig from Australia.
She went on to win her first round repechages contest ahead of New Zealand’s Olivia King and England’s Blaine Ridge-Davis to progress.
However, she then had to settle for a fifth-placed finish in the second round, which was won by Canada’s eventual bronze medallist Kelsey Mitchell, before coming 10th overall after contesting the final race for places seven to 12.
Bell is sure she can take on board what she’s learned from the Games to target the next level.
Bell, who also contested the 500m time trial, sprint and team sprint in Birmingham, said: “I got three PBs out of the three times events. The main thing was I didn’t want to be a passenger in the races. I wanted to make sure I was making moves.
“They didn’t all pay off, but I gave it my best, so that’s all I could do.
“There are so many things I can take away from the Games, like little mistakes that are so easy to fix.
“Getting experience at this level in invaluable. There are so many things I can take away and I’ll be working on.
“There’s the European Championships in around a week and the World Champs in October, which hopefully I’ll be selected for. Everything that happens here is a great experience.”
