TRACK : The women's 500-metre time trial was the Maple Leaf's first medal event on the track. Lori-Ann Muenzer was Canada's sole entrant and a definite contender for the gold. However, when the smoke cleared, it was Kerrie Meares (AUS) who took the gold, with a new Games' record. In second, former runner Jules Paulding (ENG) squeaked in just ahead of Muenzer, who won the bronze.

The men's kilo followed the 500 metre that evening, and Commonwealth records fell a few times before the racing was completed. In the end, it was Scotsman Chris Hoy who won the gold, followed by the matching red mohawk duo of Jason Queally and Jamie Staff from England taking silver and bronze, respectively. Canada was represented by Jim Fisher, who clocked a personal best in seventh place.

The women's sprint was one of the more entertaining races, with a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat gold medal ride. Muenzer qualified fastest in the flying 200 metre, earning herself a buy past the first round and a Games' record. The bronze medal sprint was decided in two rides with Anna Meares (AUS) bettering Victoria Pendleton (ENG). The gold medal took three rides. Muenzer won the first heat after Kerrie Meares was dispatched for riding Muenzer up to the rail. The second sprint featured similar aggression by Meares, but this time, Muenzer was harmlessly ridden onto the apron and Kerrie Meares took the heat forcing a third and final match. Muenzer seemed to gain the upper hand tactically in the final round, but Meares had a touch more speed, beating Muenzer to the line to take the gold. The men's sprint turned out to be equally as entertaining. The Aussies were the favourites and did not disappoint. Sean Eadie (AUS) flew to a Games' record by qualifying first. Canadians Steen Madsen, Tyler Hansen, and Lars Madsen qualified 13th, 15th, and 18th, respectively. The Canadian men made it to round two through the repechage. However, that was as far as they went, failing to make it through the round two repechage. The bronze medal sprint was a test between Jobie Dajka (AUS) and Staff (ENG). Dajka bettered Staff in two rides to take the bronze. It took three rides to decide the gold and silver. In the final ride, it was Ryan Bayley (AUS) nipping Eadie (AUS) in a pop-a-wheelie photo finish to take the gold.

The women's points race resulted in a pleasant surprise for Canada's Clara Hughes. Hughes initiated a break, taking three others with her, including eventual race winner Katerine Bates (AUS). When they lapped the field, each of the four gained an extra 10 points. The Australians dominated the sprints, setting up Bates for the win and placing Rochelle Gilmore (AUS) in the silver medal spot. Hughes sprinted for extra points with teammate Erin Carter's help to grab the bronze medal. Carter finished up in ninth position.

The medals in the men's scratch race were a little more evenly distributed. Australia nabbed another gold, with Graeme Brown winning ahead of Huw Pritchard (WAL) and Tony Gibb (ENG). No Canadians were entered. The men's points race provided some thrills because of an early race spill. Scratch race winner Brown (AUS) switched up the track immediately following a sprint, forcing the following riders up the track into the railing. It was too far for one rider to keep it up and he slid down the track, resulting in a spectacular crash involving an Australian and a Welsh rider. Brown was subsequently disqualified and not allowed to restart. When the race resumed, the New Zealand riders put in some great teamwork to help Greg Henderson to the gold medal. Mark Renshaw (AUS) took the silver, and Chris Newton (ENG) captured the bronze.

The endurance events on the track saw a Games' and a world record fall. The women's pursuit offered little in the way of surprises, as New Zealand's Sara Ulmer qualified fastest with a new Games' record. Canadians Hughes, Carter, and Lyne Bessette qualified fourth, sixth, and eighth, respectively, all setting personal bests in the process. Hughes also bettered her Canadian record. The Canadians advanced to the semis, but were unable to qualify further. Meanwhile, the four winners from the semis advanced to the finals. Emma Davies (ENG) rode against Alison Wright (AUS) for the bronze, with Wright coming out on top with a slim margin. Bates (AUS) faced favourite Ulmer (NZ) for the gold medal ride. Ulmer came out faster, again setting a new Games' record in the process.

In the men's 4,000-metre pursuit, recent Tour de France racer Brad McGee (AUS) trampled the competition. In the gold medal ride, McGee caught silver medalist Bradley Wiggins (ENG), while posting a new Games' record. Paul Manning (ENG) won the bronze.

The 4,000-metre team pursuit was again a show of force by the Australians. The Aussies blazed to a world record in the final, while England had to settle for the silver. New Zealand took the bronze medal. Canada had a solid team in the team sprint with Steen Madsen, Lars Madsen, and Jim Fisher. They finished fifth in qualifier, while England qualified fastest. The Canadian team put in an excellent ride in the semis, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the finals, as New Zealand rode a shade faster. The bronze medal ride was a duel between Scotland and New Zealand, with Scotland coming out on top to take the medal. The final saw Australia continue its dominance to best England and take the gold.

ROAD EVENTS: The road events were held a week apart, on each Saturday of the Games. It was good timing, as both days resulted in fine weather sandwiched between less-than-ideal conditions. The course was a challenging 11.7K loop, complete with narrow roads, tight turns, and a few good hills thrown in to soften up everyone's legs.

WOMEN'S ITT: For the Individual Time Trial, the women completed two tours of the road race course for a total distance of 23.4K. The riders started in two waves to minimize any confusion in keeping track of the laps. Susan Palmer-Komar was the only Canadian in the first wave, and at the end of it, she had the second fastest time behind Margaret Hemsley of Australia. But there was still the faster wave of riders to go, which contained all of the favourites: Anna Millward, Bessette, and Hughes.

At the end of the first lap of the second wave, it was evident that Canada had two contenders for gold. Bessette and Hughes were both among the fastest times at the halfway point. However, the course offered little in the way of recovery, and it remained to be seen if the initial leaders would maintain the pace.

As the last few starters passed the finish line, it appeared that Hughes had set the fastest time. Millward came in with a fast time, but not fast enough to overtake Hughes. Waiting in anticipation, Bessette approached the line. It was a close finish, but in the end, she finished third, making an Australian sandwich in Canadian bread.

The Canadians were thrilled with the result, especially since Hughes had nothing to gauge her form against going into these Games. Hughes had not competed in a time trial of this length in quite a while and it was a pleasant surprise and Canada's first two medals in cycling at the Games.

MEN'S ITT: The men tackled the course immediately after the women finished their Individual Time Trial event, covering not two, but four laps of the course. The Australians proved to be invincible, as Cadel Evans blazed the way with an average speed of 46.1 km/h. Evans finished with a wide margin over teammates Michael Rogers and Nathan O'Neill, who placed in second and third, respectively. Canada's Eric Wohlberg, the defending 1998 Commonwealth champion, just missed the podium, finishing a very respectable fourth. Wohlberg had mentioned that he felt tired from the very beginning of the event and could not get his legs to come around. Mark Walters finished a distant 17th after some technical difficulties with his handlebars.

ROAD RACE: The morning of the road race dawned misty and damp, but miraculously, the rain stayed away. Canada fielded a strong contingent with Hughes, Bessette, Carter, and Palmer-Komar. But the numbers were on Australia's side with its full complement of six riders, including heavy favourite Millward. The Canadian team's plan was to stay cool in the first half of the race, with Hughes and Carter marking any early breaks. Then, Canada would go on the attack in an attempt to send Bessette and Palmer-Komar up the road.

The first half of the race was not very eventful. Everyone seemed content to roll around and mark one another to see who had strong legs. Three laps into the race and the Australian team began attacking, but they seemed reluctant to work in the breaks with others, preferring to try a solo move. Eventually, on the seventh lap, a break of four was established that included Palmer-Komar (CAN), Roz Reekie-May (NZ), Rachel Heal (ENG), and Hemsley (AUS). As the group of four crested the climb on the second last lap, Hemsley attacked and got a gap. It looked to be a gold medal ride when, three kilometres from the finish, on a tight corner at the bottom of a tricky descent, she hit a wet patch of road and slid out. In the meantime, the group of four were caught by a chase group of four that contained Bessette, Nicole Cooke (ENG), Caroline Alexander (SCO), and Hayley Rutherford (AUS). Millward was in limbo between the main group and the lead break, now seven riders strong. She stopped briefly to help teammate Hemsley before resuming her pursuit of what for her must have seemed like a dangerous breakaway.

In a collective effort to keep Millward from bridging to the breakaway, the last lap was blisteringly fast. It seemed like it would be a seven-up sprint after Alexander. Then Bessette attacked on the climbs, but couldn't escape. Cooke nearly suffered the same fate as Hemsley on the same corner. But she saved it and fought back to the leaders. With one kilometre to go, there were a few jumps, but all were covered. Then Cooke launched for the line at about 400 metres to go and never looked back, taking the win. It was an all-out sprint for the finish, but Bessette got caught up in Reekie-May's pedal and couldn't grab a wheel. Palmer-Komar blasted through to take the silver medal, a fraction of a second ahead of Heal. Bessette had to settle for seventh after her mishap. Carter and Hughes came in with the main field after an excellent team effort, finishing 15th and 20th, respectively.

The men's road race promised to be a tough day with 16 laps (180K) to complete. The obvious favourites were the Australians with a full team of heavies, including Tour de France green jersey wearer, Stuart O'Grady. In the early going, a break escaped, but the field was content to let it roll just over a minute ahead. Once the peloton got down to business, it was bound to come back fast. When the hammer went down, a group of seven emerged, including Canadian Eric Wohlberg, Kiwi Glenn Mitchell, and five Aussies. Three other Canadians, Michael Barry, Gord Fraser, and Mark Walters, were a strong presence in what was left of the main group behind. With three laps remaining, O'Grady escaped the break. There was little anyone could do with such a strong Australian presence. The Canadians fought valiantly, with Barry making the bridge to the group of six up front on the last lap. Right about this time, the remaining Australians put the hammer down hard and Evans escaped to take the silver medal solo. Baden Cooke handily won the sprint for the bronze, making it an Australian sweep. Wohlberg finished in fifth-not a medal, but an excellent result, considering the Canadians were outnumbered from the beginning. Barry and Walters finished in 9th and 11th place, respectively.

MTB EVENTS: The mountain-bike course shared the start/finish with the road events. The course was not very technical, featuring a long gravel/pavement climb, but it was physically tough, with a bone-jarring descent littered with boulders and sharp rocks. The women were off first, riding on another rare nice-weather day. Scotland's Caroline Alexander had a comfortable lead going into the descent on the first lap, but flatted a tubeless tire. Her race was finished. Chrissy Redden (CAN) took the lead and never looked back. Eventual second- and third-place finishers Susy Pryde (NZ) and Mary Grigson (AUS) shortened the gap to Redden, but it wasn't enough. Redden used her excellent descending skills to maintain and stretch her lead down the final hill into the finish to take the gold medal. Fellow Canadians Marie Helene Premont and Kiara Bisaro had stellar rides as well and reinforced Canada's dominance by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. In the men's race, it was all Canada once again, with current world champion Roland Green taking the lead early on and never relinquishing it. Seamus McGrath (CAN) was the only rider able to match Green's pace for most of the race. McGrath rode smoothly, eventually losing contact with Green, but easily hanging on to capture the silver medal. Liam Killeen (ENG) rode in next, taking the bronze. Canadian Geoff Kabush battled to a 10th-place finish.

Commonwealth Games 2002

Manchester, England - July 25-Aug. 4, 2002

Cross-Country

Women: 1. Chrissy Redden (CAN) 1:32:10; 2. Susy Pryde (NZL) 0:16; 3. Mary Grigson (AUS) 0:39; 4. Marie-Helene Premont (CAN) 1:56; 5. Kiara Bisaro (CAN) 4:56. Men: 1. Roland Green (CAN) 1:52:48; 2. Seamus McGrath (CAN) 0:46; 3. Liam Killeen (ENG) 2:46; 4. Kashi Leuchs (NZL) 5:54; 5. Craig Gordon (AUS) 5:57; Other Canadians: 10. Geoff David Kabush 14:04.

Time Trial

Women: 1. Clara Hughes (CAN) 34:51.66; 2. Anna Millward (AUS) 9.11; 3. Lyne Bessette (CAN) 18.76; 4. Margaret Hemsley (AUS) 50.17; 5. Sara Carrigan (AUS) 51.99; Other Canadians: 7. Susan Palmer-Komar 1:01.48. Men: 1. Cadel Evans (AUS) 1:00:53.50; 2. Michael Rogers (AUS) 1:56.86; 3. Nathan O'Neill (AUS) 2:27.19; 4. Eric Wohlberg (CAN) 3:36.26; 5. Charles Wegelius (ENG) 3:50.93; Other Canadians: 17. Mark Walters 6:55.64.

Road Race

Women: 1. Nicole Cooke (WAL) 2:35:17; 2. Susan Palmer-Komar (CAN) 1:00; 3. Rachel Heal (ENG) 1:00; 4. Hayley Rutherford (AUS) 1:00; 5. Roz Reekie-May (NZL) 1:00; Other Canadians: 7. Lyne Bessette 2:00; 15. Erin Carter 7:29; 20. Clara Hughes 7:30. Men: 1. Stuart O'Grady (AUS) 4:43:17; 2. Cadel Evans (AUS) 2:08; 3. Baden Cooke (AUS) 2:28; 4. Glen Mitchell (NZL) 2:28; 5. Eric Wohlberg (CAN) 2:47; Other Canadians: 9. Michael Barry 3:02; 11. Mark Walters 5:59.

Track

Women's 500m Time Trial:

1. Kerrie Meares (AUS) 35.084; 2. Jules Paulding (ENG) 35.448; 3. Lori-Ann Muenzer (CAN) 35.595; 4. Anna Meares (AUS) 35.752; 5. Victoria Pendleton (ENG) 35.780. Men's 1,000m Time Trial: 1. Chris Hoy (SCO) 1:01.726; 2. Jason Queally (ENG) 1:01.947; 3. Jamie Staff (ENG) 1:02.456; 4. Benny Kersten (AUS) 1:02.736; 5. Hayden Godfrey (NZL) 1:04.211; Canadians: 7. Jim Fisher 1:04.852; Women's Points Race: 1. Katherine Bates (AUS) 37; 2. Rochelle Gilmore (AUS) 23; 3. Clara Hughes (CAN) 20; 4. Alison Wright (AUS) 17; 5. Sarah Ulmer (NZL) 16; Other Canadians: 9. Erin Carter 3. Men's Sprint: 1. Ryan Bayley (AUS); 2. Sean Eadie (AUS); 3. Jobie Dajka (AUS). Men's 4,000m Individual Pursuit: 1. Brad McGee (AUS); 2. Bradley Wiggins (ENG); 3. Paul Manning (ENG). Men's 4,000m Team Pursuit: 1. Australia (Brown, Dawson, Renshaw, Roberts) 3:59.583; 2. England (Manning, Newton, Wiggins, Steel) 4:02.665; 3. Women's Sprint: 1. Kerrie Meares (AUS); 2. Lori-Ann Muenzer (CAN); 3. Anna Meares (AUS). Men's 20km Scratch Race: 1. Graeme Brown (AUS) 49.492; 2. Huw Pritchard (WAL); 3. Tony Gibb (ENG); 4. Lee Vertongen (NZL); 5. Jean-Pierre Van Zyl (RSA). Men's Points Race: 1. Greg Henderson (NZL) 35; 2. Mark Renshaw (AUS) 27; 3. Chris Newton (ENG) 17; 4. Huw Pritchard (WAL) 13; 5. Jean-Pierre Van Zyl (RSA) 13. Women's 3,000m Individual Pursuit: 1. Sarah Ulmer (NZL) 3:32.467; 2. Katherine Bates (AUS) 3:34.193; 3. Alison Wright (AUS) 3:40.409. Men's Team Sprint: 1. Australia (J. Dajka/S. Eadie/R. Bayley) 44.506; 2. England (J. Queally/A. Slater/J. Staff) 44.772; 3. Scotland (C. Maclean/R. Edgar/C. Hoy) 44.934.