Staying in the action and timed his sprint perfectly
Aaron Gate beat many World Tour riders in the 160km road race to upset and perfect his record to win four gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games. He is the first New Zealander to do so, adding to his team pursuit, individual pursuit, and points race titles from last week. How did he beat a string of higher-rated road specialists? Fortitude... and his distinctive mullet!
"Our plan was to race aggressively and follow the moves because on this sort of circuit you've got to be at the front of the race to be in contention. When I started kicking off with three laps to go I knew I was outnumbered but I just had to be attentive; I knew there were certain riders and nations I couldn't let get up the road so there was a lot of following.
When it came down to the sprint, I knew I had a good line, I stepped out with about 200 metres to go and then with 100 metres to go I couldn't see anyone in my peripherals and I was thinking, 'is this really going to happen?' and then I managed to get my arms up at the finish line. I couldn't believe it - I was wondering if I'd stuffed it up somehow because it was so unreal."
-Aaron Gate
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