Liam Killeen of England celebrates as he approaches the finish line.
England’s Liam Killeen has won the Men’s Cross Country Mountain Bike event, improving on the bronze medal he won for the same event in Manchester in 2002.
Team mate Oli Beckingsale took silver, with Canadian Seamus McGrath finishing third.
“I haven't raced since October, so I was nervous going in,” said 23 year old Killeen. “There were half a dozen threats in the field, but I had a lot of self-belief.”
Killeen finished the gruelling 53 km course in a time of 2:13:11. While many residents and visitors to Melbourne were basking in a beautiful sunny day, Killeen found the weather and the course challenging.
“The weather conditions were really tough out there. The course was really tough,” he said. “Every second counted."
Canadian Seamus McGrath won the bronze medal and commented after the race, "I have to hand it to England - they had two to one against us. I gave it 110 per cent but I just didn't have enough on the last hill."
Australian Chris Jongewaard finished forth. After a fast start to the race he felt himself tire as the race went on.
"At the end of the sixth lap, going into the seventh, I started to struggle. My arms just didn’t want to go. Everything shut down for me,” he said. “I had a whole lot of negative energy going through me.
"The longer a race like this goes, the tougher it gets."
To see all the final results, visit the Cycling Mountain Bike Schedule and Results section of this Website.