BBC One: Day 11: 07:45-11:45 Commonwealth Games


BBC One: Day 11: 07:45-11:45

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A very good morning to you from Glasgow Green on this, the very last

:00:43.:00:47.

day of competition at the Commonwealth Games. It really has

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flown by, hasn't it? But there are still 11 gold medals on offer today.

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Of course, tonight will be the closing ceremony at Hampden Park but

:00:57.:01:00.

two of those gold medals will come in the street of Glasgow in the

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men's and women's road race is forced up at 8am, in just 15 minutes

:01:04.:01:10.

time, the women will be first. Watch out for England's Lizzie Armitstead.

:01:11.:01:18.

And the likes of Laura Trott, Dani King, going for Scotland. The men,

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the 12 laps, roughly 100 miles. 8am the women, 12pm for the men. The

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women first, if you cast your minds back to 2012, Lizzie Armitstead in

:01:37.:01:41.

the rain who took Team GB's first medal, it was a silver medal. Two

:01:42.:01:45.

years before that it was also a silver medal for Lizzie, and in

:01:46.:01:50.

people 's mind, she is the first one to step up and make it gold in

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Glasgow. Vos is at the front, Armitstead is

:01:52.:02:07.

trying to get in front! Both riders looking for the line, where is the

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gold medal going to go? Vos gets gold. Armitstead gets silver. I

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think it will be hard to top that but I feel like a lot has changed in

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two years. I feel like a different athlete. I feel like a different

:02:23.:02:28.

person. London capsular did the whole of Great Britain and now that

:02:29.:02:31.

we have Glasgow, it has only been two years and I think that the

:02:32.:02:36.

atmosphere will roll on -- London encapsulated the whole of Great

:02:37.:02:39.

Britain. Although it is Scotland, it feels like a home Games to me, only

:02:40.:02:44.

a couple of hours up the road. Everyone who was at London has the

:02:45.:02:47.

opportunity to watch me in Glasgow as well. Delighted with 2014. 2013

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and I am happy to forget about. It has definitely turned around this

:02:57.:03:00.

season. I had a good winter and I was in good shape right from the

:03:01.:03:04.

very beginning. It was really important for me personally, because

:03:05.:03:07.

you can convince yourself that an Olympic medal is a fluke if you

:03:08.:03:12.

really want to, but obviously it wasn't. I worked very hard for it

:03:13.:03:15.

and I just had a bad season last year and it was nice to be a will to

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come back and get that confidence again, that when I do have a good

:03:19.:03:22.

run of health and consistent training that I am capable of being

:03:23.:03:28.

the best. Cycling is a team sport. It is very difficult to explain to

:03:29.:03:30.

people because there is only one medal at the end of the day, but

:03:31.:03:34.

without a strong team then your chances are 50% less. I went to the

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Commonwealth Games in India, and actually really enjoyed it. Who is

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going to take it on the line? The gold medal is going to Australia! It

:03:47.:03:50.

was more a case of experiencing things. I was a lot younger then. I

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think Lizzie Armitstead may have just taken a silver medal. I came

:03:57.:04:01.

away from Delhi happy but I would not be happy with a silver this

:04:02.:04:06.

time. I am not used to the pressure and all the other things that come

:04:07.:04:09.

along with being a favourite but I will try to embrace it. Logically

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now, sat here, I know that I am capable of it so maybe I will try to

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watch this interview back the night before. Yes, a big day for Lizzie

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Armitstead. Chris Boardman alongside me. Lizzie has had a great year so

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far. It is really set up for her, isn't it? I think so, which might be

:04:29.:04:33.

a problem of course, she has hardly been out of the top five since the

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start of the season, so she is the hot favourite which means she will

:04:37.:04:41.

be heavily marked. The course is good for her, lots of ramps. For

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people at home who don't know road racing, when you say marks, what do

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you mean? You can sit behind somebody in cycling and spend maybe

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30 or 40% less energy than them. If you know somebody is strong, you

:04:59.:05:02.

stick behind them and then try to take over them in the sprint. The

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other factor for Lizzie is that she raced a week ago in Paris, and had a

:05:08.:05:13.

nasty fall. She was well set up then. I was working on the race and

:05:14.:05:17.

watching her, and she looked me in good form and hunting for the win.

:05:18.:05:21.

Just over a kilometre to go, she got involved in a bit of a stack and

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that was the end of the weekend for her, but at least we know the form

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is there. One of the things we know about road racing is that you need a

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good team, and Lizzie has a team of all stars.

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Here comes Pooley, come on Emma Pooley. Armitstead is going for the

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line! Armitstead gets silver, they are on fire! Dani King, Laura Trott

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and Joanna Rowsell. The gold medal is going to go to Laura Trott! It

:05:59.:06:03.

went down to the wire. It is Laura Trott for a loan, Laura Trott who

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gets it, right on the line! Laura Trott, -- Laura Trott for England.

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She is now the women's Commonwealth points champion as well.

:06:16.:06:21.

Yes, Chris, quite a team. Laura Trott, who won the national road

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race, Emma Pooley, who just got silver in the time trial. Lizzie

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will be well protected. These would normally be the people she is

:06:33.:06:35.

competing against and I have to wonder, maybe a bit mischievous, but

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if they all come to the final climb with just over 2.5 kilometres to go,

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whether those rules will change. I don't know. They are all winners,

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that is the problem, in the same team. They are by far the strongest.

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I think it will be difficult to take that instinct away. So England

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perhaps the strongest team, Australia, a lot of people talking

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about them, I don't think they have ever lost a women's road race

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title, have they? They are very good at racing as a team. Tiffany

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Cromwell, one they are touting as their leader, nominally so, I have

:07:14.:07:20.

riders who can go in all day. There is no out and out winner but they

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have lots of strong, riders. Scotland and Wales, Katie Archibald

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and Elinor Barker, they both look good on the track. Katie Archibald

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really fought hard on that time trial. She is clearly on form, she

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has an opportunity, both of them have, to show what they can do with

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the very best competition here. You might find that while all the

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favourites are quite concentrated on watching each other, they take the

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opportunity to slip away. You also have the time trial champion from

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few days ago, Linda Villumsen. Again, if you let her slip away, it

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will be very difficult to pull back. One issue for Lizzie, which she has

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mentioned herself, the length of this course, around 60 miles,

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relatively short for a road race. It is. I don't think it will change the

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result, personally. You might just find there are slightly more people

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there in at the death but it is a fascinating course for them. I think

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it will bring out the best racing. I am going to let you go to the

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commentary box, and we are going to look at the Diarra girder Boardman

:08:35.:08:36.

course guide. We are on the edge of the Trossachs

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National Park, surrounded by beautiful countryside and

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challenging rides. Is a street circuit really enough to find worthy

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Commonwealth champions? I will look at the course and find out. All I

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need is a swift steeds to carry me around.

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There are no distinct hills to speak of on the circuit, which will be

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completed 12 times by the men and seven by the women, to make a total

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race distance of 168 and 90 kilometres respectively. It does not

:09:33.:09:35.

mean there is not any climbing, and it is all hidden from Plainview.

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Spread evenly over the 14th, two circuit, six small inclines, none of

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them more than a few metres long -- few 100 metres long, but some start

:09:54.:09:57.

from a dead turn. That will kill all of the riders's speed and gear

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selection, and placing near the front will be absolutely critical.

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In fact, during the men's race, they will tackle 84 of these, that's 609

:10:07.:10:17.

metres of climbing per lap -- 609 feet of climbing. So nobody will be

:10:18.:10:21.

able to sit in and wait for the sprint.

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As if all that was not enough to deal with, I counted 38 distinct

:10:28.:10:34.

corners they are going to have to negotiate on each and every lap, and

:10:35.:10:37.

none of them more important than this one. At 2.5 kilometres to go as

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they enter Rottenrow. It is an easy left-hander that it takes them onto

:10:46.:10:49.

a steep and cobbled assent. It might only be a short section but these

:10:50.:10:53.

smooth, slippery corals have got the organisers so worried they have

:10:54.:10:56.

covered the majority of them up where the riders will be doing most

:10:57.:11:00.

of their braking, with this gritty surface will stuff they will take a

:11:01.:11:05.

pretty much dogleg right hand to a wide road that will take them down

:11:06.:11:09.

to the park. In normal conditions a corner like this would not give

:11:10.:11:13.

riders too many difficulties. In normal conditions. And that is

:11:14.:11:17.

because the cobbled and paved sections of the course, like

:11:18.:11:20.

Buchanan Street, normally pedestrianised, are incredibly

:11:21.:11:24.

slippery when wet, as you may have noticed by the full waterproof

:11:25.:11:31.

clothes, rain is forecast for the event itself. Both ends of the

:11:32.:11:36.

course had abruptly into some of Glasgow's beautiful parks. They are

:11:37.:11:40.

lovely to look at but for the athletes they represent a sudden

:11:41.:11:43.

bottleneck that will force those too far back to brake sharply, and they

:11:44.:11:47.

will have to sprint to get back in. So stay in the first 20 to 30, that

:11:48.:11:54.

will be critical. I think this circuit around the iconic streets of

:11:55.:11:59.

Glasgow is absolutely magnificent. It has got everything we could

:12:00.:12:02.

possibly want in a championship circuit and will find a worthy

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winner, and to win here you are not only going to need to be physically

:12:07.:12:10.

strong but technically skilled, and tactically very astute. I think we

:12:11.:12:16.

should ride the race on these bikes, personally...

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Yes, it looks like a great course and one that has gained lots of

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products. Expect a fast and aggressive race. As you can see, the

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women are out on the start line, the highly, off in three or four minutes

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time. Jill Douglas, before we go to the race start, has a very

:12:37.:12:42.

interesting guest with her. Let's see if Armitstead gets through...

:12:43.:12:49.

Weather conditions here are a bit different to when you won the gold

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medal in Delhi four years ago, so you are the current reigning

:12:54.:12:58.

Commonwealth champion, what are your memories of that day? It was hot and

:12:59.:13:04.

muggy that day, and I already had two silver medals from Manchester

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and Melbourne, so to win the gold in Delhi was pretty special for me. The

:13:09.:13:12.

Australians come here again with a very strong team. Yes, the pressure

:13:13.:13:19.

is on. I hope they can hold onto the gold medal but it will be a tough

:13:20.:13:23.

race. They say will be a bit of chaos out there. Everybody wants a

:13:24.:13:26.

hard race because Lizzie Armitstead is one the favourites. The

:13:27.:13:31.

Australians will have to raise hard. You have a number of riders riding

:13:32.:13:36.

here but all the different patients. Yes, I have mixed emotions but at

:13:37.:13:40.

the end of the day I have more chances of winning and feeling like

:13:41.:13:44.

a winner today, because I have two riders in the Welsh team, the

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English team and the New Zealand team. I would like Australia to

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bring home the gold medal. Mixed feelings, but I think it will be a

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really, really strong and exciting race. Let's look at Lizzie

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Armitstead, silver medal in the limpet road race, she crashed last

:14:01.:14:03.

week in Paris in that big race there. -- the Olympic road race.

:14:04.:14:12.

Howedes think she held up after the crash in Paris? All word is saying

:14:13.:14:16.

Lizzie has recovered from the crash was. She has stitches in her elbow.

:14:17.:14:21.

I saw the crash and even in slow motion it was a really hard crash.

:14:22.:14:24.

In my opinion, it has got to be playing in the back of Lizzie's

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mind. She lost the national championships a few weeks ago which

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has probably dented her confident a little bit but she was the strongest

:14:35.:14:39.

rider in the race, and she is probably the longest -- strong list

:14:40.:14:42.

rider along with Linda Villumsen and Emma Pooley in this race. That cross

:14:43.:14:47.

last week and has probably knocked around a little bit. I think Lizzie

:14:48.:14:52.

is feeling a lot of pressure -- that crashed last week. She can hopefully

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treat it like any other race because she has got good fitness and good

:14:57.:15:03.

form. So the scene is set. Can Lizzie Armitstead turn what was

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silver in Delhi and silver in London to gold in Glasgow?

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women's road race, the weather appearing markedly better than

:15:19.:15:22.

yesterday, where it rained for most of the day and also in the night.

:15:23.:15:28.

The road is still greasy. As you can see, Laura Trott in the centre, Emma

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Pooley, on the right, the silver medallist from Thursday in the time

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trial. We have got a strong feel for this one. It promises to be a very

:15:37.:15:42.

competitive race. -- strong field. I get the oppression, Chris, that they

:15:43.:15:45.

will be looking to thin out the field as quickly as possible. They

:15:46.:15:50.

are certainly going to have the opportunity, as they rode away. --

:15:51.:15:58.

roll away. They have got 38 terms on this course, as I saw yesterday. It

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is still wet. It is going to string out very quickly, and they are going

:16:04.:16:07.

to encounter short, sharp climbs, spaced roughly equally, six of them,

:16:08.:16:12.

around the course, which will help to see off some of the riders. I

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think it will be somewhat attritional. The course is

:16:17.:16:21.

deceptively undulating, more climbing than would at first appear.

:16:22.:16:24.

The riders are heading out through the green. The finish is exactly the

:16:25.:16:29.

same as for the time trials, the other day. As we were mentioning,

:16:30.:16:40.

the roads are still wet, here. In a kilometre or so, they will be going

:16:41.:16:45.

to Dungannon Street, normally pedestrianised, but with smooth

:16:46.:16:49.

paving. We were looking at that this morning. The right-hand turn from

:16:50.:16:53.

Argyle Street into the pedestrianised area of Buchanan

:16:54.:16:56.

Street will be very interesting if it rains again. One of the Kenyan

:16:57.:17:01.

riders, there, just a little late of the start line. She will have two

:17:02.:17:08.

catch up soon because the pace is only going to get faster from here.

:17:09.:17:17.

-- have to catch up. 98, does, a pretty short race. Seven laps of

:17:18.:17:24.

this 14, to circuit. -- 14 kilometre circuit. Mostly at the moment, these

:17:25.:17:32.

are quiet streets of the city centre of Glasgow, although when we wander

:17:33.:17:36.

down and our so ago, there were a fair number of people here but I

:17:37.:17:39.

don't think they were out early to get their spot on the barriers. Some

:17:40.:17:43.

of them had a very good Saturday night out and it was only just

:17:44.:17:48.

coming to an end. We can see, they are on very wide roads, now. That is

:17:49.:17:52.

the nature of this course, it chops and changes. There are elements when

:17:53.:17:57.

they go into parks, at either end of the course, and it suddenly gets

:17:58.:18:02.

extremely narrow. They are on one of the main shopping streets, Argyle

:18:03.:18:06.

Street. As you suggest, it gets a bit narrow. They are going onto a

:18:07.:18:10.

cobbled section and there is a chicane that they will come to

:18:11.:18:13.

shortly. Just a little pink in the road, right in the centre of the

:18:14.:18:22.

city. There we go. -- a little kink. Heading towards the right-hand

:18:23.:18:25.

turn of the pedestrianised Buchanan Street. Certain teams already to the

:18:26.:18:35.

fore, wanting to check out these corners themselves, and the race

:18:36.:18:38.

conditions. It has dried out slightly. They are quite tentative,

:18:39.:18:40.

just being careful. The nature of the course as much as

:18:41.:18:53.

anything, with that term, meaning the field strung out as they took

:18:54.:18:55.

the right-hander, up Buchanan Street. It is difficult to move up

:18:56.:19:04.

once it strings out like this. It takes a considerable amount of

:19:05.:19:08.

energy. Sometimes it is worth the extra work to stay at the front,

:19:09.:19:11.

even though you are working harder than you would be a few riders back

:19:12.:19:15.

because it keeps you out of trouble and you don't have the constant

:19:16.:19:19.

acceleration and deceleration. You can see the riders at the back cover

:19:20.:19:22.

was come to a standstill and then have to spring to catch back-up. If

:19:23.:19:29.

you are near the front, you are working harder but it is a nice,

:19:30.:19:34.

easy pace. The first incline at St Vincent Street, they are a couple of

:19:35.:19:37.

blocks north of the central Glasgow railway station.

:19:38.:19:38.

Vincent Street, they are a couple of blocks north of the central As you

:19:39.:19:41.

can see, the riders from Australia and New Zealand, and one or two from

:19:42.:19:47.

England, and Joyce Muthoni Mwangi has not been able to get back onto

:19:48.:19:51.

the rear of the peloton. For as long as she is able to remain in the

:19:52.:19:55.

race, she will effectively be riding an individual time trial, here, on

:19:56.:20:00.

the streets. As you can see, a noticeably different pace at the

:20:01.:20:05.

front of the peloton are ready. -- already. The other macro I think

:20:06.:20:09.

you'll find we lose half a dozen riders at least in the first lap the

:20:10.:20:14.

cause. They are strong back out. It is steeper than it looks, this,

:20:15.:20:21.

probably a 10% gradient. Tamiko Butler, the Antigua Barbuda rider,

:20:22.:20:27.

will show her face as long as possible at the front of the race.

:20:28.:20:32.

It already looks a long time for Joyce Muthoni Mwangi. This is the

:20:33.:20:36.

first climb of very many in this race. Quite a few short, sharp

:20:37.:20:41.

inclines, as you will see as the laps go by. Seven laps, here, for

:20:42.:20:46.

the women. They are slowly heading towards Kelvingrove Park. Swinging

:20:47.:20:59.

around into Elm bank Street, there. Nice shots of the city at the

:21:00.:21:02.

moment. The clouds are gathering but we have not got any rain at the

:21:03.:21:07.

moment. It looks very hit and miss. We will have showers throughout the

:21:08.:21:11.

day, forecast. That will have an impact on the race. At the moment,

:21:12.:21:15.

you can see that the roads are still a little bit damp in places. Emma

:21:16.:21:20.

Pooley, coming up on the left in the red and white. And more riders

:21:21.:21:25.

dropping out of the back of the race. Carol du-Pont and Linda

:21:26.:21:28.

Loffler from Swaziland. Very cautiously taking the corner.

:21:29.:21:44.

Up towards Charing Cross Station. Dani King, in the centre of the

:21:45.:21:48.

picture, and very strong teams from New Zealand and Australia, like

:21:49.:21:52.

Chloe Hosking Frosterley, who got a bronze medal four years ago, saying

:21:53.:21:56.

she hoped this is her redemption day. The last time she was riding in

:21:57.:22:01.

a major race in the UK, a couple of years ago, the limbic scum she said

:22:02.:22:04.

she did not cope with the pressure well and it did not go well for her

:22:05.:22:08.

and she is looking to make amends. Linda Villumsen looked in fantastic

:22:09.:22:11.

form on Thursday when she finally got to the top step of the podium,

:22:12.:22:15.

adding a gold medal to all the silver and bronze medals she has won

:22:16.:22:19.

at World Championship level. She was not far-away in the Olympics road

:22:20.:22:24.

race, finishing fifth. I can't help thinking this is not an ideal course

:22:25.:22:30.

for her. As you say, she broke the duck and got herself onto the top

:22:31.:22:33.

step of the podium which was wonderful to see, a few days ago.

:22:34.:22:37.

The Australian team have got real strength in depth. Chloe Hosking has

:22:38.:22:42.

got to fancy their chances. She prefers this kind of course. I think

:22:43.:22:47.

Dani King in the English team or have been charged with keeping

:22:48.:22:51.

things under control early in the race. Dani King is at the front at

:22:52.:22:55.

the moment as they go through Kelvingrove Park, up by where the

:22:56.:22:58.

bowls has been held during the games. Still a little bit greasy

:22:59.:23:05.

underneath the branches of the trees.

:23:06.:23:18.

saying, in the Australian squad. Tiffany Cromwell, who was ninth in

:23:19.:23:22.

the World Championship last year, Gracie Elvin, the road race

:23:23.:23:27.

champion, winning last week. Katrin Garfoot had the bronze medal in the

:23:28.:23:33.

time trial, and Gillow as well, finishing in sixth place. Melissa

:23:34.:23:41.

Hoskins, as well, the 23-year-old. Really stringing out at the back

:23:42.:23:46.

already, here. Probably about 40 riders in the bunch before the tail.

:23:47.:23:50.

We have lost five or ten riders before the end of the first lap. It

:23:51.:23:55.

is actually quite a strong pace, as they exit Kelvingrove Park. Heading

:23:56.:24:01.

out towards the far end of the course, near Glasgow University.

:24:02.:24:05.

Right into the heart of the West End.

:24:06.:24:15.

They will climb away from the river, towards the top end of the

:24:16.:24:19.

course, quite quickly, now they are out of the park. Then they will head

:24:20.:24:26.

back through some technical sections. Hannah Barnes races for

:24:27.:24:33.

the United health care team in the US these days, eighth in the women's

:24:34.:24:38.

Tour, the very successful inaugural women's Tour in Britain, held in

:24:39.:24:43.

May. Enormous crowds on the stages, there, particularly in the finishing

:24:44.:24:49.

areas. A very popular race, won by Marianne Voss. We can see very

:24:50.:24:53.

clearly that England have shown early in this race the strategy. We

:24:54.:24:57.

have heard that they will be riding for Lizzie Armitstead. Hannah Barnes

:24:58.:25:02.

and Dani King have been charged with the early work. Already, we have got

:25:03.:25:10.

more than ten riders in trouble. Bianca Hern old, who was riding on

:25:11.:25:14.

the track and read the time trial the other day. And both Sri Lanka

:25:15.:25:19.

riders, Wickramasingha, there, finding it tough. Claire

:25:20.:25:25.

Fraser-Green from Dayan, and also down towards the back end of the

:25:26.:25:28.

field, Marina Bleasdale from Guernsey. -- Fraser-Green, from

:25:29.:25:34.

Dayan. Already, this race proving very

:25:35.:25:46.

difficult. You can see how steep some of these short climbs are.

:25:47.:25:55.

Some of them are getting on for 20% gradient. This is really thinning

:25:56.:26:03.

out the field already, stringing them out around the circuit. A

:26:04.:26:07.

reminder, seven laps, 98 kilometres, for the women's race.

:26:08.:26:14.

It is turn after turn after turn, on the streets. You can see the width

:26:15.:26:42.

changing all the time as well. It is one of those races where you have to

:26:43.:26:49.

expend quite a lot of energy as the first 20 riders, keeping the pace

:26:50.:26:53.

up, straight into the descent. There is no time for Beagle to regroup at

:26:54.:26:58.

all. This group of riders is maybe 100 metres long, now. -- there is no

:26:59.:27:07.

time for you to regroup at all. They are able to get some speed up along

:27:08.:27:10.

Gibson Street, and they are heading into Woodlands Road shortly. They

:27:11.:27:18.

will take the sharp turn into the park quadrant. It is almost a

:27:19.:27:26.

gratuitous loop, around some beautiful housing in Glasgow. It is

:27:27.:27:30.

a great present the Tour indeed. Perhaps not for them, when they do

:27:31.:27:35.

the sharp right hand turn. Maybe we will get to see it. They are about

:27:36.:27:40.

to turn right, they have almost doubled back on themselves, in about

:27:41.:27:46.

100 metres from now. And then they will head up towards Parc Circus.

:27:47.:27:51.

Here we go, there is the turn. A very difficult course, but not in

:27:52.:28:09.

a normal way. Just these small ramps, all the time, one after the

:28:10.:28:14.

other, some just 100 or 200 metres long, and then straight into a

:28:15.:28:19.

descent. It is whittling down this field incredibly quickly. We are

:28:20.:28:22.

just a few kilometres into the race, just over half a lap, and already, I

:28:23.:28:27.

would say, 20% of the field has been distanced. There we are, Parc Circus

:28:28.:28:47.

-- Park Circus in the centre. As Chris was saying, you can see how

:28:48.:28:51.

the field has been whittled down in this last lap also. -- also.

:28:52.:29:02.

It won't be long before they head down Lynne Dock Street, before

:29:03.:29:16.

turning right and then heading back into the centre of the city, but

:29:17.:29:23.

that Street is cobbled. It looks as though the cobbles will become very

:29:24.:29:30.

smooth if it rains. They have taken measures for that. It does not need

:29:31.:29:37.

much to start a slide. You can see the wheel tracks of the riders and

:29:38.:29:40.

so there is still quite a lot of water on the roads. A brief look at

:29:41.:29:45.

the small group containing Claire Oakley, off the back, the rider from

:29:46.:29:49.

Northern Ireland, and Emma Pooley. Up towards the front of the race,

:29:50.:29:53.

Hannah Barnes on there as well, and Australia making sure they have got

:29:54.:29:57.

somebody monitoring events on the front of the peloton. I had a look

:29:58.:30:06.

at this course yesterday, and it looked like it was a simple street

:30:07.:30:15.

circuit. It looks different yesterday anyway for a number of

:30:16.:30:18.

reasons, mainly due to the horizontal rain falling down. 200

:30:19.:30:29.

feet plus of climbing in this race. No distinct claims that they have to

:30:30.:30:30.

go up No distinct claims that they have to

:30:31.:30:33.

go but all of these short ramps are adding up, and combined with the

:30:34.:30:37.

corners, it is a very, very physical course. Clear

:30:38.:30:50.

heading right back into the centre of the city now.

:30:51.:31:03.

The riders from New Zealand up towards the front. Rushlee Buchanan

:31:04.:31:11.

as well and from the Isle of Man, Laura Wasley. At the moment, Dani

:31:12.:31:19.

King in the centre of Laura Wasley. At the moment, Dani

:31:20.:31:27.

Emma Pooley on the right. Really starting to thin out. Anna Christian

:31:28.:31:33.

from the Isle of Man, a really promising young rider, shortly to

:31:34.:31:39.

turn 19. Still in that lead group. That is now down to about 20, 25

:31:40.:31:44.

riders tops, out of a field of well over 60 at the start, 63 riders, so

:31:45.:31:50.

that is incredible. We are down to nearly a third of the field left. It

:31:51.:31:58.

does look to me as if they are heading down towards Nelson Mandela

:31:59.:32:04.

Place. It is a fast, fast road down here. Switch left and right shortly.

:32:05.:32:13.

You can get some good speed up here before heading through a little

:32:14.:32:18.

square of Nelson Mandela Plays, in towards George Street. They will go

:32:19.:32:23.

across the top of Buchanan Street, part of Buchanan Street. They have a

:32:24.:32:30.

nasty surprise coming up, as they go hard left. In the Montrose Street.

:32:31.:32:39.

Yes, the route really kicks up, short, sharp and not so pleasant at

:32:40.:32:43.

all that will become more noticeable the laps go by. This left-hander, I

:32:44.:32:49.

think it is actually the steepest climb on the circuit. It comes just

:32:50.:32:55.

a few short kph the finish. It is the last hill they have to negotiate

:32:56.:33:01.

before they come back down to the park, Glasgow Green. Hoskins at the

:33:02.:33:12.

front for Australia. She is a world bronze medallist on the track in the

:33:13.:33:18.

team pursuit. Major successes have come on the track. Silver medallist

:33:19.:33:22.

as well from the scratch race couple of years ago in the worlds. Just

:33:23.:33:28.

gives you eight limbs of how steep that is. You can see how high they

:33:29.:33:33.

have climbed in probably 15 seconds of riding. There is Libby Armitstead

:33:34.:33:40.

-- Lizzie Armitstead with the orange tinted glasses, and that gives you

:33:41.:33:43.

some idea of the gradient these riders are having to overcome here.

:33:44.:33:47.

It is not a long climb but it really knocks you out of your stride. The

:33:48.:33:53.

difficulty for the backmarkers is it tips over image Lee and there is no

:33:54.:33:56.

real respite for them to try to get back on. You can see this bunch is

:33:57.:34:00.

whittling down to 20, 25 riders every time they hit one of these

:34:01.:34:04.

ramps, and then slowly people are clawing their way back but they can

:34:05.:34:07.

probably only do that ten times in this race before they can no longer

:34:08.:34:15.

make contact. Karina Bowie of Guernsey finding it tough. One of

:34:16.:34:21.

the riders from the Isle of Man too into some difficulties. Laura

:34:22.:34:27.

Wasley. Meanwhile, at the front of the peloton... They are coming down

:34:28.:34:34.

to set up for the turn into Rottenrow. Only 50 metres of road.

:34:35.:34:41.

You can see it from the helicopter shot. They have resurfaced the

:34:42.:34:47.

cobbled streets with a grippy material because it will be so

:34:48.:34:51.

dangerous when wet to get the riders around the corner. Onto the cobbles,

:34:52.:34:55.

another patch of the special service, as they turn back off, the

:34:56.:35:01.

descent back down to the park. They will almost have completed their

:35:02.:35:05.

first lap now. Back down the high Street, past the high Street

:35:06.:35:13.

station. This nice, wide, sweeping descent. Hannah Barnes in the blue

:35:14.:35:19.

and white hat there. Emma Pooley up towards the front. Hoskins as well.

:35:20.:35:25.

Just a bit further up, Halbwach of Mauritius, number 32. Once you have

:35:26.:35:37.

lost contact, it is very difficult to get back on terms. Just trying to

:35:38.:35:46.

hold onto the back of the peloton, News Olivier from South Africa. --

:35:47.:35:52.

Lisa Olivier. They are close to Glasgow Green at the end of the

:35:53.:36:01.

first lap. Twisting through the park too, Simon, with some changing

:36:02.:36:07.

widths of road. We saw a couple of right-hand bends inside the party at

:36:08.:36:11.

Glasgow Green, way you do need to take care. We were noting on

:36:12.:36:15.

Thursday that it could be a bit tricky, if the roads were greasy and

:36:16.:36:19.

wet, but thankfully, as you can see, the weather has much improved over

:36:20.:36:26.

the last 12 hours or so. Very, very wet here yesterday. Dani King on the

:36:27.:36:29.

right-hand side of the green. Anna Christian there on the far left, in

:36:30.:36:34.

the black of the Isle of Man with the yellow and red trim. We have a

:36:35.:36:41.

lot of the good riders right at the front here. It is the kind of course

:36:42.:36:47.

where you have to be attentive, and work the extra energy at least for

:36:48.:36:50.

the first couple of laps as they get a feel for this circuit and the race

:36:51.:36:53.

conditions. They all will have ridden around these roads already.

:36:54.:36:59.

Never with barriers like this, where they have the whole use of the road.

:37:00.:37:12.

Anna Christian on the front at the moment.

:37:13.:37:34.

river now. You have to be careful on this left-hander. To the bottom edge

:37:35.:37:46.

of the park, before they take the smooth curve around to bring them

:37:47.:37:56.

into the finishing straight. You can see Katie Archibald in the blue of

:37:57.:37:59.

Scotland right at the back of this leading peloton. She has had an

:38:00.:38:08.

excellent Commonwealth Games with the bronze medal in the points race.

:38:09.:38:12.

She has finished in the top five in every race she has taken part in.

:38:13.:38:21.

This is her fifth event here. We have not mentioned the riders from

:38:22.:38:24.

Wales either, they have Elinor Barker, Hayley Jones and Amy

:38:25.:38:26.

Roberts. Here we go, then, almost at the end

:38:27.:38:44.

of the first lap, Lizzie Armitstead staying out of trouble, right at the

:38:45.:38:52.

front of the peloton. And the first lap of seven almost under their

:38:53.:38:56.

wheels. They have got rid of quite a few already. Hannah Barnes riding on

:38:57.:39:00.

the front, Dani King in the clear glass is right behind her, Emma

:39:01.:39:04.

Pooley on the left-hand side of the picture -- on the right-hand side of

:39:05.:39:13.

the picture. 23 minutes and 20 seconds the time for that opening

:39:14.:39:14.

lap. Riding on the front, Cherise Taylor

:39:15.:39:23.

for South Africa. -- Cheri Stander. I just wonder whether you expect to

:39:24.:39:46.

see activity, riders at the front of the race or whether it will be a

:39:47.:39:51.

steady whittling down process, attritional? I think that will be

:39:52.:39:55.

the case at the moment. Just getting a feel for the race. Everybody is

:39:56.:39:59.

always a bit nervous in the opening stages. One lap under their belt,

:40:00.:40:07.

you can see them visibly backing off a bit. We have removed a lot of

:40:08.:40:12.

riders from this race. There is, it has to be said, a big variety of

:40:13.:40:16.

abilities in the Commonwealth Games road race. That also makes the top

:40:17.:40:19.

riders, the professional riders, nervous, because they can get mixed

:40:20.:40:24.

in and cause crashes, so they tend to ride strongly in the first couple

:40:25.:40:28.

of laps, just whittle it down so that they are left with the

:40:29.:40:30.

experienced people they trust certainly on a circuit like this

:40:31.:40:38.

with these varied services. A good pace being set here, though. New

:40:39.:40:44.

Zealand have such a strong team here. Just about the home-based

:40:45.:40:52.

riders and -- it is not just about the home-based riders. New Zealand,

:40:53.:40:54.

who have had an excellent Commonwealth Games, very well

:40:55.:41:00.

represented here. Ashley Buchanan, Emily Collins, Jaime Nielsen. Reta

:41:01.:41:10.

Trotman. A very solid line-up. A line-up with bags of experience. We

:41:11.:41:17.

have got a glimpse of Laura Trott. Riding for England, the national

:41:18.:41:25.

champion. Jasmin Glaesser there, number ten, for Canada, just at the

:41:26.:41:33.

back of the peloton. Glaesser, with a couple of medals in the World

:41:34.:41:36.

Championships on the track this year.

:41:37.:41:44.

Just about to turn right now in the Buchanan Street once again.

:41:45.:41:58.

Just having a little look to see who that is just in front. Wondering

:41:59.:42:07.

whether it might be Katie Archibald towards the back of that group. In

:42:08.:42:12.

the middle of the picture. Interesting strategy, driving near

:42:13.:42:16.

the back on a circuit like this, but it is quite a small peloton now.

:42:17.:42:22.

Plenty of room to race for this number of riders. St Vincent Street

:42:23.:42:31.

coming up next. So there will be the first incline of the second lap now

:42:32.:42:35.

coming up, which the riders will see laying before them. A little shot of

:42:36.:42:41.

Belize Olivier from South Africa. A main group of about 40 riders now

:42:42.:42:52.

as we seen the first attack of the day. The first attack of the race.

:42:53.:42:58.

It looks to me as if it is Katrin Garfoot, Garfoot who is riding very

:42:59.:43:04.

well, with that medal in the time trial. She got herself a contract by

:43:05.:43:11.

the mid-season point with Oracle. The German born Australian. Very

:43:12.:43:16.

quickly the response comes from New Zealand. An interesting move from

:43:17.:43:22.

Australia so early in the race, not only -- they don't need to whittle

:43:23.:43:25.

this field down any more, perhaps just testing the water to see who

:43:26.:43:34.

would take the opportunity for a bit of daylight, but it was not to be.

:43:35.:43:39.

Look at all the riders in the red and white of England massed at the

:43:40.:43:43.

front. Another counterattack this time, Australia trying to go for it

:43:44.:43:48.

yet again. We said they had strength in depth and they seem to be intent

:43:49.:43:54.

on using that. Not going to favour any one individual here. Cromwell

:43:55.:44:00.

has been said to be the strongest of the bunch but I am not sure. Hannah

:44:01.:44:09.

Barnes is chasing her down. It looks to me as though it might be Katie

:44:10.:44:15.

Archibald leading the chase as well. It is Archibald in the blue of

:44:16.:44:23.

Scotland there, third in line. Shara Gillow on the front for Australia.

:44:24.:44:27.

Sixth in the time trial the other day. You have to admire the

:44:28.:44:34.

enthusiasm of Archibald, but it is early in the race to get involved in

:44:35.:44:39.

the chasing. You can see we are not seeing Lizzie Armitstead or

:44:40.:44:43.

Villumsen or any of the main contenders here getting involved. It

:44:44.:44:52.

is too early for them. Even if the breakaway were to make it, I don't

:44:53.:44:55.

think it would be sustainable, this far out from the finish. The attacks

:44:56.:45:03.

coming thick and fast from Australia. This is the third little

:45:04.:45:07.

dab of the front we have seen in the last couple of minutes or so. Very

:45:08.:45:12.

close to the curb on the outside. She's absolutely determined to move

:45:13.:45:15.

away. They have not stopped, have they? There is a few metres between

:45:16.:45:23.

them, a little bit of daylight. Cornering very well in these damp

:45:24.:45:29.

and changeable conditions. Melissa Hoskins, again chased down by Hannah

:45:30.:45:34.

Barnes. Barnes, sticking to the back wheel straightaway. There is a rider

:45:35.:45:40.

from South Africa trying to join in as well. Is it Ashleigh Moolman? The

:45:41.:45:47.

problem is, she will force a breakaway, but her companions don't

:45:48.:45:55.

necessarily want to ride with her. I believe that the England team orders

:45:56.:45:59.

are to ride for Lizzie Armitstead. Maybe they will change tactics as

:46:00.:46:03.

the race dictates. Those three have already got a lead of maybe four

:46:04.:46:10.

seconds, now. The first goal breakaway group of the race forming,

:46:11.:46:16.

here. It was animated and instigated by Melissa Hoskins. -- the first

:46:17.:46:23.

little breakaway. She is really riding hard, here, cornering faster

:46:24.:46:27.

than the camera motorbike can accelerate on these surfaces. Look

:46:28.:46:37.

at this, right on the edge. And Hannah Barnes nearly came down,

:46:38.:46:43.

there. It caused her to lose the wheel. She took the smooth stones

:46:44.:46:47.

surface of the guttering and it was enough to start a slide. She was

:46:48.:46:55.

very key to recover. -- very lucky. The riders are heading into the

:46:56.:47:00.

heart of the West End, on Lap 2. Barnes will be mighty relieved to

:47:01.:47:09.

have stayed upright, there. Just an University Avenue, and the chase

:47:10.:47:15.

being led by cash offer, from South Africa, who does not look as though

:47:16.:47:20.

she will be able to hold the wheel of the other two. -- An-Li

:47:21.:47:33.

Kachelhoffer. We can see the lead. 79 kilometres remaining, and there

:47:34.:47:36.

are the leading to but the gap is very small. They will have to work

:47:37.:47:41.

hard to distance this group. There's a lot of players not represented,

:47:42.:47:47.

being that there are just too, here. I'm surprised with skins. We mention

:47:48.:47:51.

at the start that she was a major favourite, and she is clearly on

:47:52.:47:55.

form, a good, technical rider for a course like this but playing her

:47:56.:48:00.

cards very early. Still the best part of two hours of racing

:48:01.:48:06.

remaining. This is the furthest part of the course from Glasgow Green,

:48:07.:48:13.

you. -- here. Explore matters into the second lap. 14 kilometre laps,

:48:14.:48:21.

now. Great George Street, and this is where the climb is, another one

:48:22.:48:26.

of those short, sharp ones, but for all the effort Hoskins is putting

:48:27.:48:29.

in, Barnes is making sure she does not get away, or if she does, she

:48:30.:48:33.

will have company. Asked marking the early moves in this race but they

:48:34.:48:36.

are not really gaining ground on the peloton. It is staying at roughly

:48:37.:48:45.

three or four seconds. Barnes, having to dig deep, here. Our camera

:48:46.:48:52.

is shortening the distance, somewhat. She rolled through to the

:48:53.:48:59.

front wants, which was surprising. But they will be giving no leeway

:49:00.:49:03.

whatsoever at this early stage of the race. Hoskins desist in, sitting

:49:04.:49:11.

up a bit at the top of the climb. The race is going to come back

:49:12.:49:14.

together again, or what is left of it because it is a sizeable

:49:15.:49:18.

whittling down process already in this first lap and a half.

:49:19.:49:28.

I don't think that is going to be the last we see of Hoskins. She has

:49:29.:49:36.

shown what she is capable of. Superb by candling skills we have seen,

:49:37.:49:41.

two, despite the changeable road surfaces, here. A great descent

:49:42.:49:45.

where they can really get some speed up, along Gibson Street.

:49:46.:50:01.

Well over 50 kilometres per hour, on that descent. A little bit further

:50:02.:50:11.

back, Cherise Stander, for South Africa.

:50:12.:50:23.

Still on that climb, about 30 seconds or so of the back of the

:50:24.:50:30.

peloton. She won't be seeing the peloton again, I would not have

:50:31.:50:31.

thought. 35 riders in the main group. Then we

:50:32.:50:47.

have got several stragglers, now. A time check at the 21 kilometre mark,

:50:48.:50:51.

and only 47 riders have been through that. Anna Christian, there are, for

:50:52.:51:02.

the Isle of Man. Just coming up to the front, the Isle of Man colours

:51:03.:51:06.

this year, very similar to New Zealand, just the banding on the

:51:07.:51:13.

sleeves separating them. Isle of Man will be well represented this

:51:14.:51:15.

afternoon in the men's race, including one of the favourites. I

:51:16.:51:23.

believe Mark Cavendish is the sporting director for the day,

:51:24.:51:26.

driving the following car, and I think he might be doing so in the

:51:27.:51:35.

women's race, as well. Well, the Australian team clearly looking to

:51:36.:51:37.

animate the race from a long way out, here. This is the fourth attack

:51:38.:51:43.

we have seen on the second lap. Dani King is charged with policing

:51:44.:51:49.

matters this time. So, England, the strongest team on paper, seem to be

:51:50.:51:55.

determined to take control of the race. They are the ones doing all of

:51:56.:52:02.

the marking. They are using their troops very early, to keep things

:52:03.:52:05.

under control. Everyone else will have seen that. New Zealand will

:52:06.:52:09.

happily let them do that, just follow the wheels. Clearly, he is

:52:10.:52:13.

not driving the car, Mark Cavendish, because he is here. How Mark

:52:14.:52:19.

Cavendish would have loved to have been in the road race this

:52:20.:52:21.

afternoon, in the colours of the Isle of Man. If he can't race, he is

:52:22.:52:29.

still here to help. He will be driving the team car for the mens

:52:30.:52:40.

rea this afternoon. -- men's race. The riders are taking stock. Emma

:52:41.:52:47.

Pooley as always ridden close to the front of the race. Is this Katrin

:52:48.:52:56.

Garfoot once more? They are determined to start a move, in this

:52:57.:53:03.

race. It is Garfoot. Attacking, well, certainly accelerating off the

:53:04.:53:08.

front, not for the first time. She is being followed very closely by

:53:09.:53:12.

Eileen Roe, the recently crowned British circuit race champion, the

:53:13.:53:14.

24-year-old, from Fife, straight on her wheel. It is a reasonably

:53:15.:53:24.

comfortable pace for her, too. Dani King, third in line. Like the

:53:25.:53:28.

English team, the Scots are quite happy to participate in the

:53:29.:53:29.

breakaway. It looked like Emma Pooley was going

:53:30.:53:55.

to have a go for a minute there, just popping out to the right. Emma

:53:56.:54:04.

Pooley and Dani King, up towards the front, keeping an ion things. A

:54:05.:54:07.

little further back, Stephanie Roorda, from Canada. -- keeping an

:54:08.:54:14.

eye on things. She is struggling to keep in touch when the pace goes up

:54:15.:54:18.

at times, hanging off the back and Laura Brown as well, number nine.

:54:19.:54:22.

More prominent as they track rider, Brown. The latest attack from

:54:23.:54:32.

Australia, here. You can't help thinking that it is not just getting

:54:33.:54:36.

a move away, it is the fact that there is no one that wants to work

:54:37.:54:40.

with you at such an early stage in the race. They are very aggressive,

:54:41.:54:44.

using their strength in depth, for sure. Right in the centre of the

:54:45.:54:50.

city again, cutting across Buchanan Street, and Nelson Mandela Place.

:54:51.:55:02.

And along towards George Square. Still no rain, although there are

:55:03.:55:07.

grey skies. The clouds look reasonably high. Finger is crossed.

:55:08.:55:11.

Certainly not the volume we had yesterday. They are still predicting

:55:12.:55:14.

some showers today, particularly around lunch time. But now finding

:55:15.:55:22.

life a bit more difficult is Claire Thomas of Scotland.

:55:23.:55:32.

She has done well to be in the race, actually, Claire Thomas. She

:55:33.:55:41.

fractured her hip in a race in June. I think she is proud to just

:55:42.:55:43.

be here. She has been in Ruediger form, the

:55:44.:56:04.

New Zealand rider, just outside the medals in the time from. Melissa

:56:05.:56:08.

Hoskins once more and this time, Lizzie Armitstead towards the front,

:56:09.:56:12.

having a little look. -- she has been in great form.

:56:13.:56:17.

That is the first time we have seen her today, isn't it? Lizzie

:56:18.:56:25.

Armitstead, looking confident and untroubled so far. A relief for

:56:26.:56:29.

her, that she is able to take a place in this road race after

:56:30.:56:37.

crashing in the last kilometre of the La Course in Paris last weekend.

:56:38.:56:42.

A conversation going on, deciding tactics. Laura Trott on the front

:56:43.:56:47.

for England. I thought she would be a good bet today. But we have heard

:56:48.:56:51.

that everyone is in the service of the Lizzie Armitstead. She looks

:56:52.:56:54.

very comfortable in third place. She will have had the disadvantage of

:56:55.:56:59.

having focused on the track, a few short days ago. It is difficult to

:57:00.:57:03.

switch distances but a punchy rider for a course like this, which is

:57:04.:57:11.

ideal. And the new British road race champion, meanwhile, a little

:57:12.:57:13.

further back, Hayley Jones, for Wales. She comes from a famous Welsh

:57:14.:57:20.

cycling family. Her mother, Louise, won the gold medal for Wales in

:57:21.:57:25.

Auckland in 1990, one of only two gold medals in cycling in the

:57:26.:57:28.

Commonwealth Games won by Wales over the years. Louise Jones with one of

:57:29.:57:32.

them and Nicole Cooke, of course, who won the road race in magister in

:57:33.:57:41.

2002. -- in Manchester. Louise Jones is a commissar on the race. She will

:57:42.:57:46.

be watching out for her daughter, possibly anxiously, on these

:57:47.:57:50.

services. And you mentioned Laura Trott being so good on the track,

:57:51.:57:54.

and Hayley Jones is also a strong track rider, a world junior champion

:57:55.:57:57.

in the team pursuit. Laura Trott, on the front. But no decisive move made

:57:58.:58:03.

yet in the women's road race. Let's talk to Jill Douglas in the

:58:04.:58:06.

finishing area with Mark Cavendish. Mark is watching the women's race

:58:07.:58:18.

cleanly. But you also involved with the men's race. How are you doing? I

:58:19.:58:26.

would like to have had a car but we have got share price -- shared cars

:58:27.:58:34.

because we only have two riders. Alanna Christian is a good girl on

:58:35.:58:37.

the domestic scene. There are some good riders here. She is doing well.

:58:38.:58:41.

We spoke about what to do this morning. She seems to be doing OK.

:58:42.:58:45.

We will see how far she can get in. Who knows? I think the best thing

:58:46.:58:51.

about the Isle of Man team is that we are underdogs. It is exciting

:58:52.:58:55.

just to be here, with people I grew up with. The last time I saw you,

:58:56.:58:59.

you are getting in the back of an ambulance in Harrogate after that

:59:00.:59:02.

horrible crash at the beginning of the Tour de France. How are you? I'm

:59:03.:59:08.

OK. I have been on a bike in the last couple of weeks, training hard

:59:09.:59:12.

in the week just gone. I still don't know my programme really, yet. But I

:59:13.:59:16.

will see how strong I am. Obviously, I have put on a bit of weight. I was

:59:17.:59:22.

in super form for the Tour de France. I have always done the Tour

:59:23.:59:25.

so I don't know how my form will be at this time of year without doing

:59:26.:59:29.

it. I don't know what we will do. We will see in the next couple of

:59:30.:59:32.

weeks. My movement is not fully recovered but not too bad. Lots of

:59:33.:59:36.

people would have loved to have seen you racing here as well. But it was

:59:37.:59:41.

not to be. Realistically, when will you be back racing? I am hoping in

:59:42.:59:49.

the next few weeks. But we will see. Hopefully I will get a good week in

:59:50.:59:52.

training, and then test my form the week after. It is difficult, because

:59:53.:00:00.

you know what it is like, I go to a race and I'm expected to win but

:00:01.:00:04.

that is not realistic. I need to find a race without that pressure,

:00:05.:00:07.

maybe have my team-mates, to see if they could do some thing and it will

:00:08.:00:11.

do me good to ride in the mountains. We will see what happens in the next

:00:12.:00:18.

couple of weeks. I know how much it means for you to represent the Isle

:00:19.:00:24.

of Man, you have a very strong team here, what are you thought about the

:00:25.:00:29.

men's road race? There are some strong riders here. But again is an

:00:30.:00:34.

Isle of Man team, our best thing is that we are the underdogs, we have

:00:35.:00:40.

such strong guys. Such a small island, we can beat these big

:00:41.:00:44.

teams. The other home nations have got young riders, but still strong,

:00:45.:00:49.

especially suited to this type of course, to be fair. But I know we

:00:50.:00:52.

have the riders. Not course, to be fair. But I know we

:00:53.:01:00.

collectively that can go out, as course, to be fair. But I know we

:01:01.:01:00.

did in Delhi, we went out and control the race. OK, ultimately the

:01:01.:01:03.

Australians won, but it was a great showing. All the riders ride well

:01:04.:01:13.

together. What is it about the Isle of Man and bike racing? Of course,

:01:14.:01:17.

famous for motorbikes, the TT of course, but there is a real

:01:18.:01:21.

tradition of bike racing and some fantastic competitors over the

:01:22.:01:24.

years. There is nothing else to do there! No, I was over with Peter and

:01:25.:01:31.

the kids, and she said, she was in a car with Finn, my boy, and she said

:01:32.:01:36.

even CYP full grow up riding a bike here, it is hilly and windy. It

:01:37.:01:41.

even CYP full grow up riding a bike like the unofficial national sport

:01:42.:01:41.

there. Everyone in the UK likes football, but to be fair in the Isle

:01:42.:01:48.

of Man and you have the motorcycling and the here they come.

:01:49.:01:59.

When it gets narrow, you should move up the front.

:02:00.:02:02.

When it gets narrow, On this course, especially with these greasy roads,

:02:03.:02:09.

it gets really narrow and you use a lot more energy at the back, so it

:02:10.:02:13.

is actually beneficial to do a little sprint at a corner. Keep out

:02:14.:02:18.

of trouble. Yes. Looking a bit further ahead, things are other the

:02:19.:02:22.

air at the moment with the injury and not sure what you are going to

:02:23.:02:27.

be doing, but when you look at Bradley Wiggins coming back onto the

:02:28.:02:30.

track, is there a little part of you that wonders whether you should take

:02:31.:02:34.

the same route? There is, but I don't work for sky. They can't go

:02:35.:02:38.

back and forwards. That was part of the deal. Can I say BSkyB on BBC?

:02:39.:02:48.

You have just done it. It is great what they have done for cycling.

:02:49.:02:54.

They don't just sponsor the sky team, they sponsor British cycling

:02:55.:02:57.

and it was kind of them to do that. Things did not work out for me at

:02:58.:03:07.

Sky. Every other team would not be to do what Sky do. I am a

:03:08.:03:12.

professional bike rider. Ultimately I would like to do that but I am a

:03:13.:03:16.

professional cyclist. I love my team, winning for my team, and

:03:17.:03:22.

ultimately my team and the road has to come first. I will let you go,

:03:23.:03:25.

because I know you have responsibilities here with the Isle

:03:26.:03:28.

of Man team, but thank you very much, looking forward to seeing you

:03:29.:03:30.

back on the bike soon. Great to hear Mark Cavendish, but

:03:31.:03:38.

what a shame that he is not able to take part on the road race here this

:03:39.:03:42.

afternoon, because he knows this is a course he could do rather well on,

:03:43.:03:47.

following on from the national championships last year. These are

:03:48.:03:50.

the clients that Mark Cavendish likes, these short, sharp ones that

:03:51.:03:57.

are over quickly. -- these are the claims. He knows how to measure his

:03:58.:04:04.

effort, perhaps starting at the very front -- these are the climbs. As he

:04:05.:04:09.

said, it is worth spending some power to be in the right position

:04:10.:04:12.

and then slipped back through the numbers, if necessary. Buchanan

:04:13.:04:17.

Street has really dried up now, it has made a big difference for the

:04:18.:04:20.

safety of the riders. It is not guaranteed to stay there but they

:04:21.:04:22.

will make the most of it when they can. We have a reasonable break

:04:23.:04:28.

developing here. Yes, two riders breaking away, and you may recognise

:04:29.:04:34.

the familiar face of Laura Trott there on the Australian's wheel.

:04:35.:04:38.

This is a course that Mark Cavendish won the national championships on

:04:39.:04:43.

last year. David Millar looked as though he might get the victory but

:04:44.:04:47.

Cavendish beat him right at the end. Lizzie Armitstead is well one on

:04:48.:04:50.

this course and she is keen to get back on it once again. The

:04:51.:05:06.

Australian rider Charlotte Gillow -- -- Gillow.

:05:07.:05:11.

There has been quite a bit of looking around there. That is a big

:05:12.:05:21.

gap now. Laura Trott staying nicely tucked in here on the wheel of Shara

:05:22.:05:31.

Gillow from Australia. The camera angles shows the distance and

:05:32.:05:34.

shortening somewhat. It is a reasonable gap. Time for something

:05:35.:05:38.

else to chase. New Zealand is deciding we are going to block this

:05:39.:05:41.

out and not do the chasing. It looks like that at the moment. Emily

:05:42.:05:50.

Collins from New Zealand. It does look as if if anyone is going to

:05:51.:05:54.

bring it back, it would be Canada at the moment who are being asked to

:05:55.:06:00.

lead the chase. That would be Leah Kirchmann. And Anna Christian from

:06:01.:06:04.

the Isle of Man now coming to the front. It will be interesting to see

:06:05.:06:11.

if Gillow is expecting any help from Laura Trott. Laura Trott is playing

:06:12.:06:16.

a team role today, supposedly, which I wonder if that will change at all

:06:17.:06:21.

if this lead becomes established. So far the English riders have been

:06:22.:06:25.

merely marking, they have not been helping any attacks or any potential

:06:26.:06:30.

breakaways. Hannah Barnes rolled through once, but I think it was

:06:31.:06:34.

just a case of just rolling through. They have about ten seconds plus

:06:35.:06:40.

now. Not much at all time to get organised behind. Heading up towards

:06:41.:06:44.

Kelvingrove Park again on this third lap of seven. They will be into the

:06:45.:06:47.

park in the not too distant future. New Zealand have cracked now and

:06:48.:06:54.

decided to start chasing. Nielsen sitting on the front and doing the

:06:55.:06:58.

work again, shadowed by the England team. Up to 15 seconds now, the time

:06:59.:07:11.

gap from the leading two. One rider, which effectively this is

:07:12.:07:14.

now, Gillow won't get any assistance. As we go to the pits

:07:15.:07:24.

here, and some reason. Retirees. One or two riders dropping out of the

:07:25.:07:27.

race here. Wales now down to two. Hayley Jones. She dropped out, just

:07:28.:07:44.

as the race entered its third lap. Gillow not a stranger to riding

:07:45.:07:48.

alone, sixth in the individual time trial earlier this week. Gillow

:07:49.:07:55.

pressing on and doing all of the work here. Laura Trott just happy to

:07:56.:08:03.

sit on. Here they come now into the park. Jaime Nielsen continues to

:08:04.:08:11.

ride on the front, Emma Pooley on her wheel. Still two riders in the

:08:12.:08:17.

race for Wales, three actually, Amy Roberts, Katie Curtis and Elinor

:08:18.:08:17.

Barker. Into the park now. It has been cut

:08:18.:08:26.

by a third. Third in her national championship

:08:27.:08:44.

road race earlier this year. Second in the time trial. A long time ago,

:08:45.:08:49.

though. The Australian championships are in our winter, so back in

:08:50.:08:54.

January. That was the curve that almost caught out Hannah Barnes in

:08:55.:08:57.

the last lap, just off the edge of that fountain. Someone has been out

:08:58.:09:08.

painting in the middle of the night there in support of David Millar, I

:09:09.:09:17.

notice. There we are. Great support for David Millar this afternoon in

:09:18.:09:21.

the men's road race. He won the bronze medal in Delhi four years

:09:22.:09:25.

ago. The crowd will be out on the streets later on for that one.

:09:26.:09:31.

Starting to look around now. Surely she is not expecting any assistance

:09:32.:09:35.

here? What they might be doing, of course, is setting up a staging

:09:36.:09:39.

post, as it were. So getting one of your team-mates up the road and then

:09:40.:09:44.

attacking across to it. At a point of the race where it would normally

:09:45.:09:48.

be too early, but when bridged up with a team-mate, that works well.

:09:49.:09:54.

Everything being marked closely this time by Lizzie Armitstead up

:09:55.:09:58.

University Avenue. Armitstead looks very comfortable at this stage. Very

:09:59.:10:05.

low gear, easy acceleration, staying at the front to ease out the flow

:10:06.:10:09.

around the corners. Katie Archibald up there for Scotland in the blue. A

:10:10.:10:14.

great couple of weeks for her, from Glasgow, just from the outskirts of

:10:15.:10:20.

the city. England marking these breakaways is one of the upside is

:10:21.:10:26.

to it, it is that they do not have any obligation to do the chasing.

:10:27.:10:30.

Particularly when it is a rider like Laura Trott, who could win this race

:10:31.:10:35.

at right. It forced New Zealand to come to the front, which they did,

:10:36.:10:39.

and immediately New Zealand counterattack. Just along Byres Road

:10:40.:10:43.

now, right in the heart of the West End, near Hillhead station. Turning

:10:44.:10:48.

right now in the great George Street. They will go up till now,

:10:49.:10:52.

this is one of the short, sharp, stinging little climbs that really

:10:53.:10:59.

take it out of your legs. It just disrupts the rhythm constantly.

:11:00.:11:05.

Lizzie Armitstead. Ashleigh Moolman there, predominantly in the green.

:11:06.:11:13.

Interesting that Lizzie Armitstead decided to take on -- Ashleigh

:11:14.:11:18.

Pasio. She has split the group. In a few

:11:19.:11:27.

metres of starting that climb, she has got it down to a group of five.

:11:28.:11:33.

Clearly the English team has done well to crown her the leader and put

:11:34.:11:39.

everybody in her service today because she looks in superb form.

:11:40.:11:45.

She really does. Laura Trott is going well as well in the early

:11:46.:11:53.

stages here. She has replaced Armitstead is the national road race

:11:54.:11:58.

champion. Ashleigh Moolman on the front of your picture, yet another

:11:59.:12:04.

attack from the Australian team, who are expending a fair bit of energy

:12:05.:12:08.

here in the opening three laps of this race. You can see how fast it

:12:09.:12:21.

is taking over from 30 kph climbing to the 60 kph downhill. All the time

:12:22.:12:29.

just stretching the peloton. I feel sure it will not be a bunch sprint

:12:30.:12:34.

finish, not on a circuit like this. Possibly for the men's race as well.

:12:35.:12:38.

It is just ideal for creating these breakaway opportunities. For the

:12:39.:12:44.

first time, that little breakaway attempt not immediately chased down,

:12:45.:12:47.

although England do have three riders on the front of the peloton.

:12:48.:12:52.

It is Emma Pooley at the moment who is bringing everybody back up to our

:12:53.:12:57.

leader. And doing so very quickly indeed. The whole group now lined

:12:58.:13:08.

out, and probably less than 25 riders just stringing out. This is

:13:09.:13:12.

the picture that we are going to see throughout the day, just small gaps

:13:13.:13:17.

appearing, less and less riders able to get back on terms after each of

:13:18.:13:23.

these accelerations. Emma Pooley deciding to drive it here. Just on

:13:24.:13:30.

Park quadrant now. The race momentarily almost doubling back on

:13:31.:13:38.

itself. Armitstead in second place. Anna Christian still well-placed,

:13:39.:13:43.

fifth in line. A small gap there, and Emma Pooley has decided to see

:13:44.:13:48.

if she can force... Archibald just trying to get across

:13:49.:13:48.

if she can force... Archibald just trying to in the blue now, just

:13:49.:13:53.

turning left, she sensed the danger of that. There is only a second or

:13:54.:13:56.

so between them but Emma Pooley decided to keep the pressure on, if

:13:57.:14:04.

they could keep a gap all the way down there with some of the

:14:05.:14:07.

favourites pinned in place, because of all the corners, then they may

:14:08.:14:11.

choose to try and press this advantage.

:14:12.:14:23.

Pooley is really piling it on at the moment, and it is causing a split.

:14:24.:14:32.

They have made it look relatively easy to do, just sit on the front

:14:33.:14:35.

and apply the pressure, but going through these corners, small gaps

:14:36.:14:40.

can quickly be exacerbated, and as the riders look around, they just

:14:41.:14:43.

take the pressure off the pedals to see if anyone is going to help them,

:14:44.:14:48.

suddenly the gaps appear, and with the corners constantly coming, then

:14:49.:14:52.

it just grows very, very quickly. They have decided to push this on.

:14:53.:14:57.

There is a lot of their biggest opposition not represented here. If

:14:58.:15:01.

you can get the Montreux Street and that big climb, then they could

:15:02.:15:05.

really dry this one home. For the first time, the race is really on,

:15:06.:15:10.

but those with Armitstead and Pooley on the front, that is why Katie

:15:11.:15:13.

Archibald is busting a gut to try and get with it and make sure does

:15:14.:15:17.

not get away. Only a third of the into this race. They have decided

:15:18.:15:22.

there is an opportunity here to make this race, live. Armitstead is

:15:23.:15:25.

looking back, she has decided to drop a bit further back so she can

:15:26.:15:31.

keep an eye on everybody. Pooley charged with keeping the pressure

:15:32.:15:34.

on. If they can get the Montreux Street, a short, sharp climb, the

:15:35.:15:48.

shortest of the entire race. Tiffany Cromwell, the last time we have seen

:15:49.:15:58.

her. -- first time. A little kick up Montrose Street,

:15:59.:16:00.

her. -- first time. A little kick up coming up a bit later on. Not

:16:01.:16:07.

far-away now, that is the shore. This is Blythswood Street. The next

:16:08.:16:14.

one will be Montrose Street. Just a very brief incline. And now a fast

:16:15.:16:23.

run into the city. There is Katie Archibald. Right on her wheel,

:16:24.:16:28.

there, Amy Roberts of Wales. Look at the distance now with this

:16:29.:16:39.

group. They have probably got a minute of riding to get back down

:16:40.:16:49.

this descent. Then towards the bottom of Montrose Street. Nelson

:16:50.:16:57.

Mandela Place, heading across Buchanan Street, to George Square.

:16:58.:17:03.

They are going to try to set up for the climb, now. I don't think we

:17:04.:17:07.

will see an outright attack but we will see a forcing of the pace. It

:17:08.:17:12.

is Emma Pooley who is perfectly made for doing a job like this, driving

:17:13.:17:16.

the pace. Lizzie Armitstead will sit on the wheel. Great use of the

:17:17.:17:24.

troops, here. You can see Anna Christian, the Isle of Man

:17:25.:17:29.

representative as well, up there, amongst this eight rider leading

:17:30.:17:35.

group. Barnes helping doing some pace setting as well, now. This

:17:36.:17:40.

group has slowly swelled in numbers. But I still feel that England have

:17:41.:17:44.

created a group from which they can win. We have Hannah Barnes, Emma

:17:45.:17:48.

Pooley, Lizzie Armitstead Ashleigh Moolman from South Africa, Tiffany

:17:49.:17:52.

Cromwell of Australia, Amy Roberts, Archibald and Christian. But it is

:17:53.:17:57.

growing all the time, coming back together. I think all the favourites

:17:58.:18:03.

have really pushed on, there, sensed the danger, used the descent to get

:18:04.:18:08.

back across. Archibald knew straight away. She was very quickly on to it.

:18:09.:18:14.

I rode up that climb yesterday, and I can tell you, as you can see, it

:18:15.:18:19.

is not easy. It looked like Lizzie Armitstead was on a different road

:18:20.:18:23.

to everyone else. This is Reta Trotman of New Zealand. That gives

:18:24.:18:27.

you some indication, when you look at the speed, of the climb, which

:18:28.:18:31.

she will be glad is now under her wheels. I think we are looking at

:18:32.:18:38.

the back of the field, now. That is Charline Joiner on the back. We saw

:18:39.:18:43.

her on the track last week. Emma Pooley on the right and Archibald is

:18:44.:18:47.

having to do a lot of chasing to stay up with the pace. She is using

:18:48.:18:52.

up a lot of energy at the moment. Clever tactics by England, using

:18:53.:18:56.

their strength in numbers to force their opponents to do all the work.

:18:57.:19:03.

Strong competitors, though, the Australian team. They can use any

:19:04.:19:10.

one of their number, here, to try to take the title. It is going to be a

:19:11.:19:14.

battle of wills between Australia and England. It certainly looks that

:19:15.:19:20.

way in this race. England are coming out tactically the smartest of the

:19:21.:19:26.

group, as they come down Rottenrow, drying out nicely. Not as rotten as

:19:27.:19:30.

it might have been, had the heavens opened this morning. I think that is

:19:31.:19:37.

it, now, they have decided that this is not going to work and there is no

:19:38.:19:43.

point in spending too much energy. The combination is not right. They

:19:44.:19:47.

will use the descent to have a drink, and regroup. They have got

:19:48.:19:52.

some daylight, there, but not enough to make it stick. It was a good move

:19:53.:19:56.

but if they persisted with it, they would be expending energy

:19:57.:20:00.

needlessly. They are going to let this one glow. -- let this one go.

:20:01.:20:08.

Blahs go green, in the top left of the picture, which is where the

:20:09.:20:10.

riders are heading. -- Glasgow Green.

:20:11.:20:22.

This is where you have an opportunity for one of the smaller

:20:23.:20:29.

nations to have a go, or one of the lesser favourites, shall we say. It

:20:30.:20:36.

was Linda Villumsen, in the Black of New Zealand, who won the time trial,

:20:37.:20:40.

the first time we have seen her at the front, today. I think it is too

:20:41.:20:46.

early for her should be -- for her to be having a go. She should be

:20:47.:20:50.

following the moves we have just seen and waiting until later. It is

:20:51.:20:54.

a great opportunity for one of the Welsh riders, perhaps, to see what

:20:55.:21:00.

they can do, while England and Australia and New Zealand all watch

:21:01.:21:04.

each other. Gemma Neill, just off the back, 12th in the national

:21:05.:21:07.

championships, recently. Emma Pooley on the right of the picture. Amy

:21:08.:21:12.

Roberts up there in the centre. About fourth in line. We have nearly

:21:13.:21:22.

had three of the seven laps in the women's road race. And another

:21:23.:21:26.

attack coming from Australia. In front of the People's Palace,

:21:27.:21:41.

there. A beautiful building. A lot of beautiful buildings around blahs

:21:42.:21:45.

go that we have seen. Heading down to the banks of the Clyde, now.

:21:46.:21:49.

Hannah Barnes with the blue on the crash hat. Amy Roberts, still

:21:50.:21:58.

prominent for Wales. Along the river, now. Then the final turn into

:21:59.:22:08.

the finishing straight. Back out of the park. We are heading now to what

:22:09.:22:17.

already looks to be a very select group in terms of the race as a

:22:18.:22:23.

whole. It is incredible, we are nearly at the halfway stage of the

:22:24.:22:25.

race. It has gone so quickly. You can't help but notice that for

:22:26.:22:40.

all of the attacks we have had from Australian rider so far, we have not

:22:41.:22:43.

seen anything from Gracie Elvin, the national champion. She is keeping

:22:44.:22:47.

her powder dry until the latter stages, maybe. Coming into the

:22:48.:22:52.

finishing straight, now, at the end of the third lap. Emma Pooley, Linda

:22:53.:22:57.

Villumsen, in the back of New Zealand, up to the front and Lizzie

:22:58.:23:02.

Armitstead right up alongside her. Anna Christian, on the left-hand

:23:03.:23:06.

side, also in black, and the Isle of Man kit is very similar to New

:23:07.:23:09.

Zealand but they have yellow and red trim on their sleeves and their

:23:10.:23:15.

shorts. A drink for Emma Pooley. And Lucy Garner, on the left for England

:23:16.:23:18.

as well, with Dani King on her wheel. Amy Roberts in the centre, in

:23:19.:23:28.

the red shorts, for Wales. And Anna Christian, leaving -- leading them

:23:29.:23:35.

over the line this time. Just 19 riders in the lead group,

:23:36.:23:41.

represented. Hoskins, Linda Villumsen, Trott, of course, Tiffany

:23:42.:23:47.

Cromwell, Lizzie Armitstead, Lucy Garner, just picking up some of the

:23:48.:23:54.

key names, here. Gracie Elvin is in there. Nielsen, for New Zealand, and

:23:55.:24:01.

Reta Trotman. Most of those who we would expect to see are still very

:24:02.:24:06.

much involved in the thick of this race. Archibald is still well in the

:24:07.:24:14.

thick of it, here. She has got Annie Ewing, who might get back in touch.

:24:15.:24:20.

She is just ten seconds adrift. As we see another attack, here. It

:24:21.:24:27.

looks like Linda Villumsen of New Zealand. Setting herself up for the

:24:28.:24:38.

corner. It is very early for her to be attacking. A lone attack means

:24:39.:24:44.

that she will struggle with so much team representation from England and

:24:45.:24:48.

New Zealand behind. I do think this is a smart move. -- I don't think.

:24:49.:24:58.

So far, Australia and England have been doing all the work and the

:24:59.:25:02.

countering. Maybe from their perspective, it was not a bad

:25:03.:25:06.

thing, when you consider the numbers they have as well, New Zealand. For

:25:07.:25:10.

much of the race, they would be quite content to let everyone else

:25:11.:25:15.

go for it. Up until about ten climate to go, 15 kilometres, -- ten

:25:16.:25:22.

kilometres, 15 kilometres to go, she should be letting the other teams

:25:23.:25:25.

whittle down the numbers they have already.

:25:26.:25:28.

whittle down the numbers they have heading into the pedestrianised

:25:29.:25:29.

area. It is a little chicane. And then the right-hand turn into

:25:30.:25:44.

Buchanan Street. She is persisting with this three

:25:45.:26:08.

second advantage that she has, here. A little bit of discussion behind.

:26:09.:26:14.

They will probably give her another second or two while they work out

:26:15.:26:17.

who is going to chase. Everything is being left to England at the moment.

:26:18.:26:21.

I'm sure at some stage, they will look round and say to the

:26:22.:26:24.

Australians, "you have just as much to lose, you should be helping us".

:26:25.:26:29.

England do the chasing and the instant they bring Linda Villumsen

:26:30.:26:33.

back, there will be counterattacks, and they need to be very careful

:26:34.:26:37.

that they don't find themselves on the back foot. England are still

:26:38.:26:41.

very well represented towards the front of the group. On the back

:26:42.:26:43.

foot. England are still very well represented towards the front of the

:26:44.:26:46.

group. Onto St Vincent Street. Linda Villumsen looks comfortable.

:26:47.:27:00.

She's just stretching this lead out, isn't she? Behind, you can see it

:27:01.:27:05.

surging. She needs to get enough of isn't she? Behind, you can see it

:27:06.:27:10.

surging. a gap to be able to yo-yo behind between driving and stopping.

:27:11.:27:13.

But Emma Pooley has decided to get it done. They don't want to sit

:27:14.:27:19.

there, grinding away. They want to close the gap when it hurts everyone

:27:20.:27:22.

else as well, so they can't just counter attack. A smart move,

:27:23.:27:27.

there, riding a tempo until you get a drag and then they closed the

:27:28.:27:31.

gap. Linda Villumsen has certainly strung them out. And it was not a

:27:32.:27:35.

full out effort from her, either. A big day for Emma Pooley. It is her

:27:36.:27:41.

last major by grace, having announced her retirement. She has

:27:42.:27:44.

been a shining light for British women's cycling in recent years, a

:27:45.:27:48.

world champion and an Olympic medallist and they consistently

:27:49.:27:52.

strong performer. Not just in cycling, of course. She did a

:27:53.:28:00.

marathon as well. I think she will concentrate on that. As an athlete,

:28:01.:28:05.

her career is not finished. She is ending her international cycling

:28:06.:28:09.

career but we will see her in the triathlon and the marathon,

:28:10.:28:12.

endurance sports, where she still has plenty to do. They are just

:28:13.:28:17.

closing this gap. An enormous amount of damage yet again, really

:28:18.:28:23.

stringing out this group. The riders unable to hold the wheel. Emma

:28:24.:28:26.

Pooley will certainly be missed in cycling circles. She has a very

:28:27.:28:32.

specific talent, and has made the most of her limited stature, not

:28:33.:28:37.

just in climbing hills but also aerodynamically, she is very small,

:28:38.:28:41.

and as we saw earlier this week, she is strong in the time trial. Only

:28:42.:28:44.

bested by Linda Villumsen. Lizzie Armitstead, just marking the

:28:45.:28:52.

move. So, the leading riders are all still

:28:53.:29:02.

together at the moment. Jill Douglas is that the finish line.

:29:03.:29:10.

I'm alongside the president of Scottish cycling, and significantly,

:29:11.:29:13.

the course designer, where we are watching both the races today. When

:29:14.:29:18.

you put the course together, what was in your mind? There were a

:29:19.:29:23.

number of challenges, Jill. We had certain constraints placed upon us

:29:24.:29:25.

by the logistics around the rest of the games, various venues, games

:29:26.:29:30.

lanes, and then the Greater Glasgow marketing bureau wanted to showcase

:29:31.:29:33.

as much of the nice part of the city, and many of the iconic

:29:34.:29:37.

buildings within the city as we could possibly accommodate within

:29:38.:29:42.

the circuit, which has do have UCI guidelines. It was a long and

:29:43.:29:46.

conflict and demanding process but we got there in the end. How would

:29:47.:29:51.

you describe the course? It is punchy in places and quite

:29:52.:29:55.

technical. It is a tricky course because any city course, especially

:29:56.:29:58.

one like Glasgow, built on a grid system, means there will always be

:29:59.:30:01.

corners and right-hand turns. We tried to get a nice mix, with

:30:02.:30:05.

short, sharp climbs, some long drags, a nice, flat finish into the

:30:06.:30:13.

park. We have got a pretty mixed all-round circuit. Who do you think

:30:14.:30:20.

that all-round bike rider might be, both in the women's race and later

:30:21.:30:28.

this afternoon in the men's race? Could be any Australian, English or

:30:29.:30:37.

New Zealander, to be asked with you. No, I could not pick a winner, to be

:30:38.:30:43.

honest with you! You would love to see Katie Archibald in the mix come

:30:44.:30:51.

the end of this? Yes, she is in the mix. She is up against, obviously,

:30:52.:30:58.

because there are quite a number of English and Aussies and Kiwis still

:30:59.:31:01.

left but at least she is there. And a quick word on David Millar this

:31:02.:31:07.

afternoon? He is in our Kaboul form, happy with his condition, quietly

:31:08.:31:11.

optimistic, and of course he has the good old head on him which helps. --

:31:12.:31:22.

remarkable form. Up by Glasgow University, heading to the heart of

:31:23.:31:26.

the West End. It cuts right through the centre of the campus of the

:31:27.:31:30.

university, they have come out at Kelvingrove Park. Emily Collins on

:31:31.:31:34.

the far side of the road. Straight away, Emma Pooley is right near her,

:31:35.:31:39.

Ashleigh Moolman as well on the New Zealander's wheel. A bit of a debate

:31:40.:31:47.

going on involving Melissa Hoskins. Just on the back of the peloton. She

:31:48.:31:51.

does not look overly happily about something. New Zealand very well

:31:52.:31:58.

represented as you would expect it misleading group of riders. There is

:31:59.:32:08.

Lizzie Armitstead in the centre. On this nearside, the right-hand side

:32:09.:32:11.

of your picture on the front of the race now, Lucy Garner, the two-time

:32:12.:32:17.

former world junior champion on the road. She rides for giant Shema know

:32:18.:32:21.

now. There was some conversation in the

:32:22.:32:40.

England team ranks. Trying to set something up to prevent the attacks.

:32:41.:32:44.

Katie Archibald the on the back of the peloton at the moment. This is

:32:45.:32:53.

the climb on great George Street. Garner on the front. Armitstead.

:32:54.:32:56.

Remember this is the last time they went up, every time she has gone up

:32:57.:33:01.

it so far, she has looked very comfortable. Has been able to open

:33:02.:33:07.

up gaps almost at will. Just a show of strength. Maybe there has been a

:33:08.:33:13.

decision here to try and split up this race. They showed it was

:33:14.:33:25.

possible on the previous lap. It is a strong pace but it is not

:33:26.:33:35.

disruptive. This group has swelled in numbers somewhat now. 21 riders

:33:36.:33:38.

going through our last check together. To have that swift descent

:33:39.:33:47.

of Gibson Street coming up shortly. This is where the motorbike

:33:48.:33:50.

cameraman needs to make sure he gets a move on. It switches so quickly on

:33:51.:34:05.

this course. Four of them are no less in the first abide. Trying to

:34:06.:34:10.

work out who the Australian rider is at the front, whether it is Chloe

:34:11.:34:11.

Hosking. They are just heading into the pits,

:34:12.:34:28.

having decided she has had enough for today, Katie Curtis there to

:34:29.:34:33.

Wales, the latest retiree, the former British junior champion.

:34:34.:34:38.

Seventh in the scratch race this year. Curtis now disappearing into

:34:39.:34:43.

the pits, as the riders headed towards Park Quadrant and Park

:34:44.:34:47.

Circus once more. That is Leah Kirchmann from Canada, she created a

:34:48.:34:51.

little bit of Canadian cycling history this year, she won all three

:34:52.:34:56.

of the National titles available on the road. Crashed in the time trial

:34:57.:35:00.

on Thursday though, you can see the remnants of that crash, one or two

:35:01.:35:04.

plasters on her right leg. She bashed her hip as well. This is

:35:05.:35:13.

Hannah Barnes for England. We have had 14 retirees confirmed already in

:35:14.:35:29.

this race so far. Katrin Garfoot is the most disappointing for

:35:30.:35:33.

Australia. Of the riders we are expecting at the front, Katrin

:35:34.:35:36.

Garfoot the only one of them to have dropped out. Barnes on the fried

:35:37.:35:45.

them, Kirchmann of Canada in second place. -- Barnes on the right then.

:35:46.:36:02.

Just over half distance in the race now. From those first 21, the gap is

:36:03.:36:09.

nearly one and a half minutes back to the next riders on the road. So I

:36:10.:36:14.

think we can safely say that is the group that will contest the finish.

:36:15.:36:19.

Certainly as England are pushing the pace here, not giving anyone a

:36:20.:36:24.

chance to regroup. Emily Collins on the back for New Zealand. Katie

:36:25.:36:30.

Archibald for Scotland. Hannah Barnes continues on the front, head

:36:31.:36:36.

of Kirchmann and Pooley. I'm not really sure what the tactics are

:36:37.:36:40.

here. They seem to be telling all the riders around with no real gain

:36:41.:36:46.

in place. I was expecting some sort of attack to come but it doesn't

:36:47.:36:50.

seem to be the case. Maybe it is just trying to discourage attacks, I

:36:51.:36:54.

don't know. Amy Roberts nearly towards the front of the group, from

:36:55.:37:01.

Wales. Certainly in select company here. Absolutely, a really good ride

:37:02.:37:05.

here from Amy Roberts, the 18-year-old. Also a really good ride

:37:06.:37:10.

from Anna Christian, as well, from the Isle of Man. Another one of the

:37:11.:37:16.

teenagers in this race. Barnes, Kirchmann. There is Roberts just

:37:17.:37:24.

going through the picture. Shara Gillow. That was Melissa Hoskins,

:37:25.:37:28.

number seven, we were just seeing. It really is a very different field

:37:29.:37:53.

to the one that took start today. Not many riders left at all now.

:37:54.:37:56.

Just 21 of them in contention. And still a long way to go to the

:37:57.:37:58.

finish. Lots of conversations happening at the back there. That is

:37:59.:38:02.

Lizzie Armitstead. I think she was talking to one of the Welsh girls

:38:03.:38:05.

there, so maybe some collaboration between the teams?

:38:06.:38:16.

A lot of these riders ride in the same professional team, although

:38:17.:38:24.

they are in different jerseys today. Four riders from Australia in this

:38:25.:38:29.

front group, very well represented. Emily Collins now for New Zealand. I

:38:30.:38:36.

am not entirely sure what all the riding was for the last few minutes

:38:37.:38:39.

for the England team, but New Zealand decided they had had enough

:38:40.:38:43.

of it. Collins takes off and forces a chase.

:38:44.:38:51.

Emily Collins, just 23, she won a big women's race last season, one of

:38:52.:38:59.

the early classic races in the women's calendar.

:39:00.:39:08.

Here they come, hurtling now into the heart of the city and Nelson

:39:09.:39:13.

Mandela Place once more. Collins on the front and really

:39:14.:39:27.

stringing them out here towards George Square.

:39:28.:39:39.

Just breaking up a little bit behind. This is also a potential

:39:40.:39:47.

tactic for the team, rather than attacking, just leaving gaps to

:39:48.:39:51.

force their opponents to have to close them down. Roberts riding very

:39:52.:40:03.

strongly for Wales here. Here is Armitstead coming to the front, as

:40:04.:40:07.

the road starts to go uphill again. Straight onto her wheel is Tiffany

:40:08.:40:11.

Cromwell from Australia. Jaime Nielsen there towards the back

:40:12.:40:19.

of that group. Barnes struggling a little bit

:40:20.:40:37.

there. Going to make it over the top. That is the thing about these

:40:38.:40:43.

short terms, -- short climbs, if you dig deep, it is possible to stay in

:40:44.:40:50.

contact. Going over the top of the climb. Certainly a lot of talking

:40:51.:40:55.

going on in this group at the moment, everybody looking around and

:40:56.:41:00.

waiting for somebody to spark it. Yet another attack but half-hearted.

:41:01.:41:05.

Emma Pooley very quick to react to that one from Shara Gillow. Just

:41:06.:41:11.

trying it on there to see if she can be allowed to roll away. Ashleigh

:41:12.:41:19.

Moolman still up there for South Africa. Lizzie Armitstead looks a

:41:20.:41:26.

little bit frustrated there, perhaps she wants... I really don't know.

:41:27.:41:34.

There is not really anything in there for any of them to ride at the

:41:35.:41:39.

moment. Anna Christian soon we can see in those first ten riders also

:41:40.:41:44.

in the peloton, from the Isle of Man.

:41:45.:41:52.

in the peloton, from the Isle of power fade road before the

:41:53.:41:53.

right-hand turn. They will swoop back down into the

:41:54.:42:07.

city along the high street here. Archibald in the blue. Scotland

:42:08.:42:17.

still represented here in the race. Number 16 just taking a drink in the

:42:18.:42:20.

red and white, and throwing the bottle away, Lucy Garner. Hannah

:42:21.:42:26.

Barnes just in front of her, ringing up the rear there, Jaime Nielsen for

:42:27.:42:31.

New Zealand. She has had a good games, fifth in the individual

:42:32.:42:37.

pursuit, but a big ask for Jaime Nielsen to get among the medals here

:42:38.:42:43.

perhaps in the closing laps of this race. Some riders are perfectly

:42:44.:42:51.

content not to finish. That was Claire Fraser-Green. She has enjoyed

:42:52.:43:00.

her day out. Meanwhile, back at the front of the race, Dani King for

:43:01.:43:06.

England. She does not look as if she is enjoying it quite as much as

:43:07.:43:13.

those two. Not that the rain for King. Fantastic track rider and very

:43:14.:43:17.

powerful. Very much playing a team role today. England have ridden well

:43:18.:43:25.

as a team so far in this race. Back into the finishing area once more, a

:43:26.:43:31.

lack of Glasgow Green, pass the People's Palace and then down along

:43:32.:43:38.

the banks of the River Clyde before the finishing line itself. On the

:43:39.:43:43.

front there, Emily Collins, I think, for New Zealand. Right behind her,

:43:44.:43:51.

Tiffany Cromwell. Emma Pooley, Leah Kirchmann. Kirchmann actually rode

:43:52.:44:02.

well in Paris last weekend, that first women's race at the end of the

:44:03.:44:06.

Tour de France there on the Champs-Elysees, she was outsprinted

:44:07.:44:14.

by the world champion, Marianna Vos. There is Emily Collins, she has the

:44:15.:44:16.

orange on her crash hat. Emma Pooley there in third place.

:44:17.:44:38.

Lizzie Armitstead about fifth in line, with Dani King right behind

:44:39.:44:48.

her. Armitstead with time to have a good look round, just to check who

:44:49.:44:49.

is still there. this women's race, as Lucy Garner

:44:50.:45:11.

takes it up. Garner, Pooley and Barnes.

:45:12.:45:22.

The first real lull in the action that we have seen in the race today.

:45:23.:45:32.

We are a couple of hours in, and that is when the legs start to get

:45:33.:45:36.

sore. People start thinking about measuring their efforts a little bit

:45:37.:45:43.

more. New Zealand are still well represented, aren't they? They have

:45:44.:45:47.

got a good team, Chris, they are really strong. An hour and a half in

:45:48.:45:51.

the saddle, now. A rider's eye view of the finishing

:45:52.:46:16.

line. They have really slow down, haven't they? There is a possibility

:46:17.:46:19.

of some of the riders coming back to join them. The average speed in the

:46:20.:46:25.

race so far, 37 kilometres per hour. They're rather the 21 riders. --

:46:26.:46:33.

there are the 21 riders. Six in this riders, here. -- six English riders,

:46:34.:46:39.

here, still remaining. Well, the winner is going to come

:46:40.:46:53.

from this group, that is the shore. Four Australian riders, and four

:46:54.:47:01.

from New Zealand as well, I think. Emily Collins, just animating the

:47:02.:47:05.

race a bit on the front once again, as she did on the last lap. Four

:47:06.:47:13.

down, three to go, now. The representative from Canada, Leah

:47:14.:47:19.

Kirchmann. Amy Roberts from Wales, too. As we have mentioned, Katie

:47:20.:47:24.

Archibald. Those individuals are going to have do and hide in the

:47:25.:47:28.

wheels, don't get too far forward, don't get involved in any chasing.

:47:29.:47:32.

The responsibility is not theirs but there may prove to be an

:47:33.:47:35.

opportunity, very late in the race, as the favourites watch each other.

:47:36.:47:49.

Ashleigh Moolman and Ashleigh Pasio, there, another ride on her own. Onto

:47:50.:47:57.

Argyle Street. -- another rider. A little bit of a problem for Melissa

:47:58.:48:00.

Hoskins. I don't know if she has got an issue

:48:01.:48:12.

or she just wants to talk to the team car. Anna Christian, the lone

:48:13.:48:22.

representative from the Isle of Man. She was 14th in the time trial. A

:48:23.:48:32.

strong rider. In fact, she was 14th in the national championships as

:48:33.:48:37.

well. Consistent. A tactical discussion? Not for the first time,

:48:38.:48:41.

she was involved in a chat with the team car on the last lap as well,

:48:42.:48:46.

over in the West End, Melissa Hoskins. But now she is back up with

:48:47.:48:51.

her team-mates and the discussion continues. Maybe they are moving to

:48:52.:48:55.

plan B. They tried very hard in the early stages of the race to force a

:48:56.:49:00.

breakaway. They are largely responsible for this group being the

:49:01.:49:06.

size that it is. As we speak, varies some more attacking from one of the

:49:07.:49:09.

Australians, although I can't see who it is, as they turn onto

:49:10.:49:15.

Buchanan Street. That was not to be. Whoever it is that takes the

:49:16.:49:21.

tactical decision, here, it is going to take a lot of firepower to split

:49:22.:49:25.

up this group. It is a manageable size, with good, well skilled bike

:49:26.:49:32.

riders. There will be a few of them in that group, looking around

:49:33.:49:34.

thinking that there are rather too many riders here for their liking,

:49:35.:49:40.

come the end of the race. I wonder whether the best place to attack is

:49:41.:49:45.

not necessarily the climbs but just over the top, as everybody is lined

:49:46.:49:49.

up and penned in place? That is the place to attack. For me, they would

:49:50.:49:55.

be the tactics to play out. But you also need some support as well. You

:49:56.:49:58.

need to take at least one representative from one of the other

:49:59.:50:03.

major teams, to stop yourself being chased down again. That is where the

:50:04.:50:07.

decisive move will really be hammered home, though, isn't it? As

:50:08.:50:12.

sharp as those climbs are, they are quite short and there's only so much

:50:13.:50:15.

power you can generate on them and only so much of an advantage you can

:50:16.:50:19.

gain before the road levels out again for a while. Emma Pooley,

:50:20.:50:25.

here. We have got a very tight camera angle but I think this might

:50:26.:50:31.

be an attack. Linda Villumsen saw it coming straight away and Lizzie

:50:32.:50:34.

Armitstead in third place. The crowds are starting to gather here,

:50:35.:50:39.

for the last three laps of the women's race. Emma Pooley on the

:50:40.:50:41.

front, with Linda Villumsen and Armitstead. They are heading up St

:50:42.:50:45.

Vincent Street, moving away from the city centre, and clinging onto the

:50:46.:50:50.

back of the group is Nielsen. Katie Archibald towards the back of it as

:50:51.:50:57.

well. There is the gap. A significant gap already, four or

:50:58.:51:02.

five seconds. The England riders remaining in the rear are not going

:51:03.:51:07.

to help with the chasing. Australia are represented, but not in force.

:51:08.:51:11.

England have got their two main players, here. This is the big issue

:51:12.:51:15.

for everyone else, they'll know Lizzie Armitstead is in this group.

:51:16.:51:20.

But because you have representation for the major nations, as we were

:51:21.:51:24.

saying, there will be some hesitation. To get back on terms,

:51:25.:51:28.

you have to chase down your own team-mates. New Zealand have got

:51:29.:51:31.

Linda Villumsen in the group. We cannot see who the Australian rider

:51:32.:51:35.

is. Ashleigh Moolman is in the group on the back. Archibald is driving

:51:36.:51:40.

across. She has decided she wants a medal, does not want to say that she

:51:41.:51:44.

has run it. There might only be one of her but no one else is going to

:51:45.:51:49.

close the gap. She may spoil be set up for the England team. They will

:51:50.:51:56.

be delighted with the make-up of the breakaway, strong enough to succeed

:51:57.:52:01.

but not overdoing it. Tiffany Cromwell from Australia joining the

:52:02.:52:05.

group. It really is an elite, select a little group. Katie Archibald

:52:06.:52:08.

doing her best to drag everybody else back up towards it. Armitstead,

:52:09.:52:14.

still looking comfortable. The gap remains at five or six seconds.

:52:15.:52:18.

Katie Archibald might want to get across but she can only take so much

:52:19.:52:22.

on her own. But she is about to join them, as they make the right hand

:52:23.:52:26.

turn. She is taking won the rider with her, by the look of it. That is

:52:27.:52:32.

a courageous move. -- one other rider. She knew she only had seconds

:52:33.:52:36.

to get in touch because nobody else was going to chase it. It is slowly

:52:37.:52:41.

pulling away. That is one of the great things about Katie Archibald.

:52:42.:52:44.

She has only been seriously racing for a couple of years, still only 20

:52:45.:52:49.

years old, but as Lizzie Armitstead wishes that the motorbike cameraman

:52:50.:52:53.

would get a move on and stay out of the way, Archibald is a real racer.

:52:54.:52:57.

She may not always win the races she takes part in but you will always

:52:58.:53:01.

know she has been in them. She never turns up and rolls around. She is

:53:02.:53:04.

bridging the gap and bringing Gracie Elvin with her. A dangerous rival,

:53:05.:53:11.

sitting on her wheel, Gracie Elvin, the Australian national champion. It

:53:12.:53:14.

means Gracie Elvin has got a free ride across. It has cost Katie

:53:15.:53:18.

Archibald a lot of energy but she has managed to get across. We

:53:19.:53:22.

noticed Lizzie Armitstead waving the motorbike away. I have been watching

:53:23.:53:26.

and they have been getting very close to the races, which is great

:53:27.:53:30.

for the images but there's a lot of shelter to be gained behind one of

:53:31.:53:33.

these motorbikes, and they are starting to interfere with the

:53:34.:53:38.

racing. It is OK at the moment for Lizzie Armitstead. It is working in

:53:39.:53:44.

her favour. But should a rival get away and get this much attention, it

:53:45.:53:49.

could become difficult. To English riders and two Australians in this

:53:50.:53:56.

breakaway group. -- two English. One each for New Zealand, South Africa

:53:57.:54:00.

and Scotland. What a team-mate to have at your disposal, Emma Pooley,

:54:01.:54:04.

to be able to drive on the front for you. She is clearly committed to

:54:05.:54:12.

working for Lizzie Armitstead. And you know, the gap is growing

:54:13.:54:17.

massively, now. They are heading up University Avenue. Every time they

:54:18.:54:21.

come to a short climb, I think they are going to pull away even more,

:54:22.:54:27.

with Emmy Poole -- Emma Pooley doing the driving. Archibald, digging

:54:28.:54:34.

deep. Look at the faces of these riders. They looked like they are in

:54:35.:54:38.

different races. Emma Pooley, doing a workmanlike job on the front and

:54:39.:54:41.

Lizzie Armitstead out on a training ride, and Katie Archibald with a 500

:54:42.:54:48.

metres to go effort. It is a great group and Ashleigh Moolman from

:54:49.:54:51.

South Africa as well, worth watching, she was 12 in the World

:54:52.:54:57.

Championship a couple of years ago, so she can hang around at the

:54:58.:55:00.

business end of very tough road races. I would say there is about 14

:55:01.:55:07.

seconds to the peloton, now. Emma Pooley is doing all of the work on

:55:08.:55:11.

the front. None of the others are going to help, now.

:55:12.:55:16.

That was a good guess, 14 seconds, I'm quite proud of that. The riders

:55:17.:55:23.

are at the furthest point of because from the finishing area, now, on the

:55:24.:55:26.

Byers Road, up towards Hillhead station. When they make a right-hand

:55:27.:55:32.

turn into great George Street, there will be six -- they will be six

:55:33.:55:41.

kilometres into the latest lap. Six of the 14 kilometre lap completed.

:55:42.:55:44.

There will be two more laps to go, next time over the line. And Emma

:55:45.:55:50.

Pooley is still doing more than the lion 's share of the work on the

:55:51.:55:55.

front of the breakaway. Loving all these small climbs, every time she

:55:56.:55:59.

gets one, she is in territory she is comfortable with, driving the group

:56:00.:56:02.

forward, forcing it away. I would like to see a camera on the back

:56:03.:56:06.

group. It will be interesting to know who is doing the chasing. For

:56:07.:56:11.

it to stay at 14 seconds, somebody is trying to pull the group along.

:56:12.:56:17.

Not desperately clear, at the moment. About half of that group,

:56:18.:56:24.

well, most of the second group will not be terribly interested because

:56:25.:56:26.

of them for New Zealand and it looks like there are quite a from England

:56:27.:56:31.

as well. With Linda Villumsen and Armitstead and Pooley in the front

:56:32.:56:36.

group... It looks like it is New Zealand and Australia who are

:56:37.:56:41.

pushing the pace, and deciding perhaps that the make-up is not

:56:42.:56:48.

right, you. -- here. They don't have the volume at the front they would

:56:49.:56:52.

like, they have got the quality but not the volume and England have too

:56:53.:56:57.

much of an upper hand. The riders at the front are committed now. They

:56:58.:57:01.

have left a long time to make a decision which needed to be made

:57:02.:57:04.

instantly. Katie Archibald made an instant decision, she knew it was

:57:05.:57:08.

all on her, she had to close them down and it needed to be done

:57:09.:57:14.

straightaway. That is the thing about Archibald. She has got a nose

:57:15.:57:18.

for the race. Fortunately for her, she has the legs to go with it, to

:57:19.:57:23.

make it happen. Interesting little move, the pace had slowed slightly,

:57:24.:57:28.

and Emma Pooley, now they have made the breakaway, is inviting the

:57:29.:57:31.

others to contribute if they want to be in it. She was allowed to get a

:57:32.:57:35.

gap and the second Australian looked at Lizzie Armitstead and said, "if

:57:36.:57:40.

you want to be on her wheels, you have to close". This is getting very

:57:41.:57:45.

tactical. It could form the beginning of the end for the

:57:46.:57:48.

breakaway if they don't start to work together. Emma Pooley can force

:57:49.:57:51.

the gap but surely she is not capable of taking it all the way to

:57:52.:57:56.

the finish? The leading group, here, with Emma Pooley driving on at

:57:57.:58:02.

the front. Gracie Elvin in the partly blue crash at four

:58:03.:58:05.

Australia, with Lizzie Armitstead and Tiffany Cromwell, the other

:58:06.:58:09.

Australian, and Linda Villumsen, the gold-medal strong the time trial on

:58:10.:58:14.

Thursday on the back of the group and Katie Archibald at the tail end

:58:15.:58:17.

of the group, full Scotland. We will have do see how this works out.

:58:18.:58:22.

Really, Australia are well represented, certainly in numbers.

:58:23.:58:27.

They should start to help with some of the pacemaking. But nobody is

:58:28.:58:35.

helping Emma Pooley, here. All five riders... A little gap opening up.

:58:36.:58:41.

We could see that coming thick Katie Archibald. She dug deep and road

:58:42.:58:45.

courageously with this group but she is really finding the pace hard

:58:46.:58:49.

going. Let's hope she can stick in their aerobic longer. -- in their a

:58:50.:58:57.

bit longer. There is a dissent coming out but I think Archibald had

:58:58.:59:01.

to dip into the red for a while to bridge the gap. There is Leah

:59:02.:59:05.

Kirchmann from Canada. She could still be a major player in this

:59:06.:59:07.

race, potentially. This is the right move at the wrong

:59:08.:59:18.

time. She is certainly not going to close the gap on her own. She needs

:59:19.:59:25.

some help. You can see Amy Roberts of Wales, about four thin line in

:59:26.:59:28.

the chasing pack. Meanwhile, back with the leaders. -- fourth in line.

:59:29.:59:34.

That is a feral chunk of time. Behind, we have seen surges but not

:59:35.:59:39.

a consistent effort, and that is what Emma Pooley is laying down. It

:59:40.:59:43.

is a big sacrifice because it means Lizzie Armitstead will have to mark

:59:44.:59:47.

the other riders on her own. Emma Pooley cannot do both. Pretty soon,

:59:48.:59:51.

she is going to have to start easing up and saving some energy, to do

:59:52.:59:57.

some of the policing as well. This move IB starting to work against

:59:58.:00:04.

them now. They can't get people to share the workload. Lizzie

:00:05.:00:06.

Armitstead could find herself very quickly isolated.

:00:07.:00:23.

Here's the chase group, with Canada leading the way. And we are back

:00:24.:00:34.

with the leaders here, the usual scenario, Emma Pooley on the front.

:00:35.:00:50.

Katie Archibald. She has just been trying to take some food on board in

:00:51.:00:53.

the last few minutes, just to replenish those energy reserves. On

:00:54.:01:09.

Blythswood Street at the moment, they will have a descent into the

:01:10.:01:13.

heart of the city, a look over the shoulder from MER instead -- from

:01:14.:01:21.

Lizzie Armitstead. Motivated by recent misses, silver medallist four

:01:22.:01:27.

years ago in the road race, outsprinted by Richelle Gilmour from

:01:28.:01:31.

Australia at the end up to the line in Delhi. Silver medal at the

:01:32.:01:38.

Olympic Games two years ago. A street cleaner out. Not quite the

:01:39.:01:42.

right time for that, I wouldn't have thought. Katie Archibald still in

:01:43.:01:44.

touch here. It is clearly not a done deal, this

:01:45.:02:08.

breakaway. Possibly coming to the front to enjoy taking the line

:02:09.:02:16.

coming into Nelson Mandela Place. Interesting to note the city

:02:17.:02:20.

gradually coming to life, as the morning wears on. That is one of the

:02:21.:02:29.

benefits of a city centre circuit, even at this early hour of the

:02:30.:02:34.

morning. Plenty have come out to enjoy the action. Emma Pooley

:02:35.:02:41.

driving on. I guess, as they are about to come up to Montrose Street,

:02:42.:02:46.

a short climb that she will enjoy. Perhaps we will see the first real

:02:47.:03:02.

breakaway attempt. This really is Emma Pooley territory. The rider on

:03:03.:03:08.

the centre is Tiffany Cromwell in the white out. Lizzie Armitstead,

:03:09.:03:15.

one of the favourites for the gold medal, riding strongly throughout

:03:16.:03:17.

this race without having to do too much. Emma Pooley wisely letting it

:03:18.:03:24.

slip back, letting slip, measuring her efforts so she is still in touch

:03:25.:03:28.

with the group but maybe three seconds slower over that line than

:03:29.:03:34.

all the others. Clever riding there. Katie Archibald just staying

:03:35.:03:39.

in touch. This is exactly what Emma Pooley needed to do, she needs to

:03:40.:03:43.

get out away from the front but not be as visible, so the other riders

:03:44.:03:49.

feel some kind of obligation to do some of the pacemaking. Leah

:03:50.:03:56.

Kirchmann in the blue of Canada. Anna Christian from the Isle of

:03:57.:04:03.

Man. Certainly some power being applied here to try and close this

:04:04.:04:08.

gap. New Zealand are not happy with the make-up the group in front. If

:04:09.:04:13.

somebody does not attack from this front group soon, as we see and

:04:14.:04:17.

Pooley do just that, then I don't think it will stay away. It looked

:04:18.:04:22.

as if Rita Trotman from New Zealand was doing a turn on that front

:04:23.:04:26.

group. Really digging in. Now it is Emma Pooley once more. Into

:04:27.:04:36.

Rottenrow here, the cobbled section. It is Gracie Elvin, I think, which

:04:37.:04:41.

has tried to bridge the little gap that has opened up for Emma Pooley.

:04:42.:04:47.

It has opened up, this is another form of teamwork of course, force

:04:48.:04:50.

your opponents to have to chase, and she has done just that. She has a

:04:51.:04:56.

three to four second gap, this means that Lizzie Armitstead can sit back

:04:57.:04:58.

on the wheels and watch everybody else have to do the work, but I

:04:59.:05:01.

think it is Katie Archibald was actually doing the chasing again. It

:05:02.:05:05.

is not for her to do that. She doesn't have to take on that

:05:06.:05:09.

responsibility. She has done an awful lot of work in this race,

:05:10.:05:14.

Katie Archibald. It is playing very much into the hands of New Zealand

:05:15.:05:17.

and Australia, if she does that. This gap is going to get quickly

:05:18.:05:23.

closed, I think. Neither of the front to really want to be there,

:05:24.:05:26.

they are just trying to force a move. Just on the back of the lead

:05:27.:05:33.

group, we have not mention her for a while, Linda Villumsen, fifth in the

:05:34.:05:36.

Olympic Games road race and the gold medallist in the time trial on

:05:37.:05:40.

Thursday. She is the one who pipped Emma Pooley to the gold medal by six

:05:41.:05:45.

seconds. There she is, the silver medallist, from the other day.

:05:46.:05:50.

Looking to end her cycling career in a blaze of glory, really animating

:05:51.:05:56.

this race, Emma Pooley. Why Katie Archibald is doing the chasing at

:05:57.:05:59.

this race I don't know, when she is outnumbered here. It is not for her

:06:00.:06:05.

to do the chasing. She has an opportunity to sit in the wheels and

:06:06.:06:10.

let the others tire themselves out. She has thus far courageously stayed

:06:11.:06:14.

in touch. Now she is struggling to stay on the wheel. Hats some

:06:15.:06:23.

youthful exuberance there. -- perhaps some youthful exuberance.

:06:24.:06:32.

Villumsen just staying out of sight so when the riders look around they

:06:33.:06:37.

are not looking at her to do any chasing. Sure enough, it is coming

:06:38.:06:44.

back together now. Pooley on the front for England, Gracie Elvin, the

:06:45.:06:47.

National Champion of Australia, right on her wheel. As you say,

:06:48.:06:51.

Chris, they are all coming back together again. It was not a

:06:52.:07:00.

committed attack really, was it? Trying to force the teamwork, but

:07:01.:07:06.

Katie Archibald relieved them of that responsibility. So Elvin,

:07:07.:07:12.

Pooley, Pasio the first three riders. Armitstead responding to

:07:13.:07:20.

that straightaway. That is real tactical thinking there, no

:07:21.:07:25.

hesitation, no looking around to see who will chase, and suddenly

:07:26.:07:29.

Villumsen, who has been hanging off the back, she too is animated,

:07:30.:07:32.

straight onto the wheel of Armitstead. We can see with Linda

:07:33.:07:39.

Villumsen very much bluffing there. And Armitstead very quick to respond

:07:40.:07:42.

to that attack from Tiffany Cromwell. Tactical thinking. You can

:07:43.:07:51.

see, wait and wait all day, use up the team-mates but know instantly

:07:52.:07:54.

when it is time to use your legs to get back on terms. They will take a

:07:55.:08:01.

right-hand turn any moment now and then they will be into the finishing

:08:02.:08:07.

straight. This is our select lead group, and it will be interesting to

:08:08.:08:11.

see the time gap back to the chasers. On the line this time.

:08:12.:08:14.

Whether it is a lead that is growing... A chance to take some

:08:15.:08:24.

fluids on board. Two hours of racing completed now, very much into the

:08:25.:08:28.

closing stages, and as we said this has been an attritional experience

:08:29.:08:32.

so far. This is where we see riders start to go off the front rather

:08:33.:08:37.

than out at the back. Two laps to go, then, in the women's road race.

:08:38.:08:41.

The leading group going through, Emma Pooley, Gracie Elvin, Tiffany

:08:42.:08:48.

Cromwell, Lizzie Armitstead, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio. Katie

:08:49.:08:51.

Archibald and Linda Villumsen, they are the leading group of seven. On

:08:52.:08:58.

the last lap it was down to 21, we are now down to seven who are fully

:08:59.:09:04.

in touch. This is the next group. Depending on the make up, they could

:09:05.:09:07.

get themselves back on terms but it would take a real commitment to

:09:08.:09:10.

chase down your team-mates if that is to happen. If you do that, you

:09:11.:09:15.

have got to be sure you have got it right. Here goes Tiffany Cromwell

:09:16.:09:20.

Agger and England -- Tiffany Cromwell again and England quick to

:09:21.:09:25.

respond to that as well. It was a strong attack. Elvin has been used

:09:26.:09:32.

as the decoy, no disrespect. I think it is Cromwell that they are backing

:09:33.:09:35.

today, as the chase group comes through. Over a minute in arrears

:09:36.:09:40.

now. That flurry of action that saw them get within 30 seconds has been

:09:41.:09:47.

reduced to nothing. That will probably be the attack of Emma

:09:48.:09:51.

Pooley and Elvin down to the finish line, push them forward for maybe 20

:09:52.:09:57.

or 30 seconds. It has really gone out now. You can tell by the way

:09:58.:10:01.

they are riding, you could see that about a minute or two ago. They are

:10:02.:10:05.

starting to have a chat now, a few smiles on the faces. As you say,

:10:06.:10:10.

there are too many riders from England, New Zealand and Australia

:10:11.:10:13.

in the group, and anyone who wants to do the chasing, be it Kirchmann,

:10:14.:10:17.

Anna Christian, are basically going to have to do an awful lot on their

:10:18.:10:22.

own. You can see this front group make up for England, which is

:10:23.:10:24.

perfect, you have equal representation from the front

:10:25.:10:29.

teams, which makes everyone hesitate about chasing, which is what we are

:10:30.:10:32.

seeing, but what you want is that make up to be uneven in the

:10:33.:10:35.

villages. With Pooley and Armitstead, that is the perfect

:10:36.:10:40.

combination for the English team in front. They very much have the upper

:10:41.:10:48.

hand that everyone else knows that and are expecting them to do the

:10:49.:10:54.

lion share of the work. The penultimate lap. The rain thankfully

:10:55.:10:59.

staying away so far this morning in the women's race. Just 26 kilometres

:11:00.:11:12.

remaining now. Here's the right-hander into Buchanan Street.

:11:13.:11:22.

This race based in the heart of the city of Glasgow and out of the west

:11:23.:11:25.

end as well. Very different to the time trial which took us out to the

:11:26.:11:28.

East End and into the countryside as well. Here's the selection. We saw

:11:29.:11:52.

the Australians having a little chat at the back. I'm not sure what they

:11:53.:11:59.

were talking about but it certainly was not the planned immediate

:12:00.:12:05.

action, by the look of it. Maybe looking for the English pair to do

:12:06.:12:09.

the pacesetting. I don't think that will be too difficult now because it

:12:10.:12:11.

looks like the second group on the road has surrendered. So Emma Pooley

:12:12.:12:16.

does not have the right flat out. I don't know whether she is getting

:12:17.:12:20.

information from the team to let her know she should not drive too hard,

:12:21.:12:23.

because she has a lot of chasing to do in the last 25 kilometres of this

:12:24.:12:32.

race. There you can see the main hub, just beyond the top left of the

:12:33.:12:37.

picture there, the main Commonwealth Games hub over towards specific key.

:12:38.:12:49.

This is Saint Vincent Street -- Pacific Key.

:12:50.:12:53.

One of those riders set to become the women's race row champion.

:12:54.:13:00.

Pooley and Armitstead just keeping an eye on Tiffany Cromwell who has

:13:01.:13:04.

gone over to chat to the Australian team car again -- Pacific key. There

:13:05.:13:10.

has been plenty of discussion between the Australian team and the

:13:11.:13:13.

team management over the last two or three laps actually. Still Linda

:13:14.:13:18.

Villumsen just bides her time on the back of this group. Archibald

:13:19.:13:24.

settling back in. She was hanging on a little bit at times in the last

:13:25.:13:34.

lap also. She does not lack courage. Absolutely not. -- Pacific Quay.

:13:35.:13:48.

Gracie Elvin there in second place from Australia, another one of those

:13:49.:13:54.

riders who took part in Paris last weekend. La Course. A former

:13:55.:14:07.

professional under 23 champion in mountain bikes as well, but it is

:14:08.:14:11.

all about the road for her these days. The pace just letting up at

:14:12.:14:16.

the moment here, as Pooley eases and looks around. Ashleigh

:14:17.:14:32.

Lizzie Armitstead has had an excellent season so far. It has been

:14:33.:14:38.

a good race for her up to this point, with 24.5 kilometres. Ago.

:14:39.:14:45.

This is Linda Villumsen now for New Zealand. She has played a canny

:14:46.:14:49.

race, to be honest, possibly the most tactically astute race of the

:14:50.:14:52.

entire group. She has stayed out of sight at the back, but we just saw

:14:53.:14:57.

in the finishing straight that one flurry of activity, that showed she

:14:58.:15:01.

was just waiting and biding her time.

:15:02.:15:08.

So, Kirchmann now just brings the chase group around but it looks as

:15:09.:15:15.

if it is a decisive breakaway group, then, as the leaders continue around

:15:16.:15:20.

the penultimate lap of this women's road race, heading out of the west

:15:21.:15:25.

end, heading out to Kelvingrove Park shortly. Back now to Michelle in the

:15:26.:15:29.

studio with a look at what else is happening at the Games today.

:15:30.:15:42.

there's a lot of ways you can watch. We will be back with the

:15:43.:15:46.

women's road race and stay with it to the finish which should be in the

:15:47.:15:50.

next 20 minutes or so. Elsewhere, on BBC Three, the netball bronze medal

:15:51.:15:54.

match between England and Jamaica, England's women losing in that

:15:55.:15:59.

dramatic semifinal to New Zealand yesterday, just in the final

:16:00.:16:02.

seconds. They will be hoping to get a bronze medal as some consolation.

:16:03.:16:10.

On the red button, the all England mixed doubles badminton final

:16:11.:16:13.

between Chris and Gabby Adcock Andy Ford seeds, Chris Langridge and

:16:14.:16:17.

Heather Olver. -- and the fourth seeds will stop and there is a

:16:18.:16:23.

bronze medal match between England and New Zealand in the men's hockey

:16:24.:16:27.

which is just about to get underway. You can watch all of that on the BBC

:16:28.:16:33.

sport website. On BBC One, we will have the highlights of all of those

:16:34.:16:37.

coming up later. But let's get straight back to the closing stages

:16:38.:16:38.

of the women's road race. COMMENTATOR: Welcome back, the

:16:39.:16:51.

riders are on part quadrant. -- part quadrant. No change to the overall

:16:52.:16:54.

situation. The leading group still clear. There is Emma Pooley for

:16:55.:17:04.

England. They are on University Avenue, now, cutting through the

:17:05.:17:09.

centre of the campus. Archibald Dean followed by Tiffany Cromwell. Chris,

:17:10.:17:14.

we have had the leading group together for a little while. Do you

:17:15.:17:19.

think it will be cagey now? Will there be riders that need to split

:17:20.:17:27.

up. You have to attack, here. I don't think that Gracie Elvin, for

:17:28.:17:30.

example, and probably Cromwell, from now, they are not particularly happy

:17:31.:17:35.

with the make-up of the group. These are the cards they have been dealt

:17:36.:17:40.

and may have to make the best of it. Armitstead and Pooley are clearly in

:17:41.:17:44.

the strongest position. They have set a strong base in every crime to

:17:45.:17:48.

discourage every attacks. I suspect that Armitstead will be pressed into

:17:49.:17:53.

service, to ride as hard as she can. Armitstead looks by far the most

:17:54.:17:57.

comfortable. Katie Archibald, if she wants to do more than just finish in

:17:58.:18:01.

this group, she has done a fantastic ride so far, she will have to attack

:18:02.:18:05.

but she will be to do it on a flatter part of the course because

:18:06.:18:08.

usually struggling on the small climbs. I am interested to see what

:18:09.:18:12.

Linda Villumsen has got left in the legs. She is the dark cause. Not

:18:13.:18:18.

just in the colour of her suit. She is particularly strong, the time

:18:19.:18:22.

trial winner, not the strongest on the climbs, at a very powerful

:18:23.:18:27.

rider, who can keep bases stained effort. If she can catch them by

:18:28.:18:33.

surprised on one of the flatter sections, we will not see her again.

:18:34.:18:37.

Just an great George Street, one of the sharp inclines the circuit.

:18:38.:18:45.

Katie Archibald is clinging to the back of the group. She shows how

:18:46.:18:50.

hard this racing is. We can't see it in the face of the top riders like

:18:51.:18:56.

Pooley and Armitstead. Archibald, just riding on pure coverage. She

:18:57.:19:03.

was on from medal for three quarters of the circuit. Certainly one of the

:19:04.:19:09.

up-and-coming riders but we have a bit of a split. Linda Villumsen on

:19:10.:19:17.

the back half of it. That could be tactical but maybe it is a chink in

:19:18.:19:20.

the armour. Maybe Lizzie Armitstead can take advantage later. Armitstead

:19:21.:19:25.

thinks it is a great advantage, having raced on this course before,

:19:26.:19:30.

so she knows the effort she has to make. It is just starting to rain.

:19:31.:19:36.

It will be interesting to see how localised it is. It does not appear

:19:37.:19:39.

to be raining where they are out on the course at the moment. Probably

:19:40.:19:46.

about several kilometres away, seven or eight kilometres into the lap. We

:19:47.:19:52.

saw it in the time trial, it was incredibly isolated, but at least we

:19:53.:19:56.

know it is going to be wet. You know, even if it stops raining, if

:19:57.:20:01.

it is wet now, it will stay wet for the finish. Those last few corners,

:20:02.:20:05.

with cobblestones set into the tarmac, could make all the

:20:06.:20:09.

difference, as we switch back to the chasing group, as it has been

:20:10.:20:13.

nominally called. Personally, I think it is very unlikely they will

:20:14.:20:19.

get back on terms, now. It is not a true chasing group, you can see.

:20:20.:20:23.

They are not going flat out to try to bring it back by any stretch of

:20:24.:20:29.

the imagination. One minute 44. They are just racing for places. Just

:20:30.:20:35.

keeping a good general pace going. But the seven riders out in front

:20:36.:20:39.

will not be brought back. Having said that, I am sure that will be

:20:40.:20:45.

the case but if they manage to split off into only riders that have

:20:46.:20:49.

someone in the breakaway, and the front group continues to write

:20:50.:20:53.

steadily like this... There could be places up for grabs? They could get

:20:54.:20:58.

themselves on terms but it would be exceptional. It is possible, though.

:20:59.:21:05.

37.7, the average speed, as Emma Pooley again applied the pressure. I

:21:06.:21:10.

think half the time, this is just to stop everyone else attacking. That

:21:11.:21:14.

is the main reason she's keeping it together. She is proving to be quite

:21:15.:21:18.

determined, Emma Pooley, at the moment, out there. Getting through a

:21:19.:21:22.

lot of work. Doing some really strong riding, as ever. Where is

:21:23.:21:28.

Linda Villumsen? Is she being distanced? She is hanging off the

:21:29.:21:33.

back again. And Archibald. This is exactly the same scenario as we saw

:21:34.:21:38.

a lab ago. Archibald is digging as deep as she can and doing every

:21:39.:21:41.

thing she can but I thought Linda Villumsen would have been able to

:21:42.:21:45.

stay with this small group. She has been consistently just losing the

:21:46.:21:49.

wheels. Unless she attacks, she is not going to contest a medal, I

:21:50.:21:54.

would hazard to guess. Katie Archibald, digging deep, tried to

:21:55.:21:56.

stay in contact with the leading group. Seven of them at the front.

:21:57.:22:03.

-- trying to stay. She should just about get back on again as they go

:22:04.:22:07.

downhill but it is getting ever more difficult for. Maybe as the pace

:22:08.:22:11.

goes up and up with the kilometres ticking by, it will get harder and

:22:12.:22:16.

harder to hang in there. I think you are right. She is riding on pure

:22:17.:22:20.

courage, really. Great experience for her. She has now got a measure

:22:21.:22:27.

of what it is like to ride in company like this, the very best in

:22:28.:22:31.

the world. She is proving herself on the edge of being capable of racing

:22:32.:22:34.

with them. She can stay with them when many have not. It has been a

:22:35.:22:40.

fast pace in this race. Don't forget, she is just 20, Katie

:22:41.:22:46.

Archibald. An amazing talent, with a lot of potential still to be tapped,

:22:47.:22:50.

with her. We look forward to seeing how she progresses in the next few

:22:51.:22:53.

years. They are heading into the rain shower now. Souchiehall Street.

:22:54.:23:01.

That is just another little factor to throw into the mix in the closing

:23:02.:23:07.

stages of this race. You can see behind, they have stalled yet again.

:23:08.:23:11.

They seem happy to drive on the climbs but as soon as it is on the

:23:12.:23:15.

flat, they ease off, so they close the distance by ten seconds or so,

:23:16.:23:25.

and then it comes out again. Very frustrating for the Australians.

:23:26.:23:28.

Hoskins looked so strong early in the race but she is not going to get

:23:29.:23:35.

another chance. -- another chance at Commonwealth gold. At the front,

:23:36.:23:40.

everybody pausing to take a drink. Nobody really wants to take it on.

:23:41.:23:47.

Linda Villumsen looks behind. Armitstead, just leaving a gap,

:23:48.:23:50.

seeing if she can get the others to come around. Armitstead is trying to

:23:51.:23:55.

get herself slowly to the back. That could signal that she wants to try

:23:56.:23:57.

and get herself slowly to the back. That

:23:58.:23:59.

could signal that she wants attack. She will want to take everyone by

:24:00.:24:07.

surprise, here. Well, the sky is grey and the roads are increasingly

:24:08.:24:13.

greasy in Glasgow. Emma Pooley is continuing on the front of the

:24:14.:24:19.

leading group. We will soon be approaching the cobbles of

:24:20.:24:22.

Rottenrow, of course. They are slippery, and the organisers have

:24:23.:24:27.

put a grippy surface as they enter and exit that 50 Metre Rd but in the

:24:28.:24:31.

middle, the cobbles are fully exposed and they are like glass.

:24:32.:24:35.

They looked slippery enough even when it was dry a couple of days

:24:36.:24:39.

ago, when we were trying to check out the circuit. It was not easy to

:24:40.:24:43.

do a ready. There were lots of one-way street so we had to drive

:24:44.:24:48.

the wrong way or miss out bits altogether. With the bowl is going

:24:49.:24:51.

on at Kelvingrove Parkers well, it made life difficult. But we saw more

:24:52.:24:55.

than enough to get a real taste of the course. Touching 65 kilometres

:24:56.:25:02.

per hour, coming down here. This right-hand turn, in the middle of

:25:03.:25:07.

the city. A lot of diesel on the road and it is a bit slippery. They

:25:08.:25:11.

have to be so careful. It changes the speed they go through quite

:25:12.:25:18.

dramatically. One mistake now and the chance of a medal will slip

:25:19.:25:24.

through your fingers in an instant. George Square, on the right-hand

:25:25.:25:27.

side, the big grams in the centre of the square, for the games. -- the

:25:28.:25:36.

big grams. Various Elinor Barker. -- there is Elinor Barker. She will

:25:37.:25:41.

leave the games with a couple more models to add to her growing

:25:42.:25:44.

collection. She was so unlucky in the points race against Laura Trott.

:25:45.:25:49.

She pushed her all the way, finishing level on points, only

:25:50.:25:54.

losing on count back, on the one place in the final sprint to the end

:25:55.:25:58.

of the line at the end of the race. It is difficult to transition within

:25:59.:26:01.

the space of a week between those intense track events, and the

:26:02.:26:07.

longer, endurance events. The front group, now, has got the message that

:26:08.:26:14.

the chase is -- chasers are not making inroads and they need to

:26:15.:26:18.

start thinking about the finish. Ashleigh Moolman on the front for

:26:19.:26:22.

South Africa and Armitstead, still looking good, composed and focused.

:26:23.:26:30.

And strong. Tiffany Cromwell is the Australian in the white crash at and

:26:31.:26:35.

Gracie Elvin in the blue and green team coloured hat. That gives you a

:26:36.:26:40.

good idea of how steep the road is. It is only ten seconds but when you

:26:41.:26:45.

have gone up enough of these, as you say, 609 feet of climbing every lap,

:26:46.:26:48.

as Emma Pooley slips towards the back, here. She has given an awful

:26:49.:26:55.

lot in service of Lizzie Armitstead in this race. Linda Villumsen was

:26:56.:26:59.

certainly among the wheels on that little climb of Montrose Street.

:27:00.:27:04.

Having again been distanced a little bit on the previous climb. It is

:27:05.:27:09.

hard to tell whether it is tactical or physical. I can't see a tactical

:27:10.:27:13.

advantage to letting the wheels go, which is why we even had a question

:27:14.:27:17.

about it but when it is important, as you mentioned, she is in the

:27:18.:27:21.

wheels as Emma Pooley attacks. Having dropped off the back behind

:27:22.:27:25.

Katie Archibald, Emma Pooley makes a move on the far side of the road and

:27:26.:27:31.

Tiffany Cromwell starts to chase. That is absolutely fascinating,

:27:32.:27:35.

exactly what we said would happen, not on the climbs, which are too

:27:36.:27:38.

short, but over the top is where you can take people by surprise. She has

:27:39.:27:43.

forced the opposition into chasing. I am just wondering whether the

:27:44.:27:47.

English team will take up the bat on from the Australian teams, and start

:27:48.:27:51.

to counterattack, one after the other. -- take up the baton. They

:27:52.:27:56.

have forced the pace. I think it is still a bit early. They need to be

:27:57.:28:02.

in the final lap. Emma Pooley, not gaining any ground at the moment as

:28:03.:28:07.

Gracie Elvin makes a move. It is the Australians that sense they are

:28:08.:28:10.

about to be put onto the back foot, and have decided to grasp the

:28:11.:28:14.

initiative and force England to do the chasing. But Emma Pooley is

:28:15.:28:18.

physically capable of attacking, and going straight into a defensive move

:28:19.:28:23.

as well. It looks as though we have dodged a major shower, here, and it

:28:24.:28:30.

is clearing up again at the finish. if Lizzie Armitstead could have one

:28:31.:28:33.

team mate she could choose, this is the one. Absolutely. A super Donna

:28:34.:28:46.

steep, by anybody's understanding. -- -- a super Donna steep. -- a

:28:47.:28:55.

super domestique. Archibald, still in the mix. Learned. -- in the mix

:28:56.:29:03.

for Scotland. She's not giving in. Absolutely come you said there is a

:29:04.:29:08.

long way to go. Cromwell is making a move and Armitstead, momentarily,

:29:09.:29:11.

looking down at the handlebars but Emma Pooley will lead the chase.

:29:12.:29:15.

Ashleigh Moolman from South Africa was on her wheel and Armitstead now

:29:16.:29:25.

settling into her rhythm. A fuel of the riders starting to have a dig in

:29:26.:29:29.

the closing stages of this one. -- a few of the riders. We still have a

:29:30.:29:33.

lap and a bit to go. This is the women's road race, seven laps and a

:29:34.:29:37.

total distance of just over 98 kilometres. The showers are coming

:29:38.:29:44.

back again. These corners, I think, are going to be decisive with this

:29:45.:29:47.

weather. It is really raining hard, now. Lizzie Armitstead, ever

:29:48.:29:54.

attentive. You can see the changes in the surface, all the time. We

:29:55.:29:58.

have got these decorative cobbled strips running through the tarmac

:29:59.:30:02.

and this paved section, this has suddenly become widely repeated

:30:03.:30:08.

glass to ride on. -- like lubricated glass. It has changed the circuit

:30:09.:30:13.

completely. That does not sound terribly grippy.

:30:14.:30:29.

Emma Pooley in the front at the moment, Lizzie Armitstead in third.

:30:30.:30:40.

Then it is Tiffany Cromwell, Katie Archibald and Linda Villumsen, and

:30:41.:30:47.

it is coming down in stair rods now. As they prepare to take the bell,

:30:48.:30:51.

they have still got a couple of right-hand turns before they come

:30:52.:30:53.

into the finishing straight. Armitstead still looking good here,

:30:54.:30:59.

Chris, though. Just looking round at the opposition, trying to gauge

:31:00.:31:02.

everyone, see what position they are in. Emma Pooley. She is very clear

:31:03.:31:08.

on her role. I am the one that has to keep the pace high, I will keep

:31:09.:31:12.

everyone pinned in place until it is Lizzie Armitstead wants to do the

:31:13.:31:18.

attacking. And Villumsen is just the unknown, isn't she? Staying upright

:31:19.:31:23.

on some of these corners has suddenly become another factor as

:31:24.:31:25.

well, yet another thing to think about when the pressure is on at the

:31:26.:31:30.

end of this race. From the athlete 's perspective, the upside of it

:31:31.:31:33.

being a circuit is that they get the chance to become very familiar with

:31:34.:31:37.

the roads they are on. Coming into the finishing straight now.

:31:38.:31:46.

And still seven riders in with a chance of becoming the Commonwealth

:31:47.:31:52.

Games road race champion. Will Australia win this race again, as

:31:53.:31:57.

they tend to do? Rochelle Gilmore the winner in Delhi. The best effort

:31:58.:32:04.

for England so far, since it was first held back in 1990, silver, and

:32:05.:32:11.

for Lizzie four years ago. Rachel Heal also won bronze in 2002. Three

:32:12.:32:17.

medals for England over the years, none of them gold yet. Four of the

:32:18.:32:21.

six races have been won by Australians. I find it hard to

:32:22.:32:25.

believe this race is going to come down to a sprint. I am not sure the

:32:26.:32:32.

Australians would be comfortable that Elvin or Cromwell could take it

:32:33.:32:36.

in a sprint. Surely there has to be an attack in this last lap? Surely

:32:37.:32:41.

Linda Villumsen would be one of the favourites if it came down to a mass

:32:42.:32:45.

Halep at the end, so surely we have to see some attacking in the next

:32:46.:32:51.

few kph? Really we could do with the riders who are individuals in here

:32:52.:32:55.

to attack as if they were a team, so not help each other, but not

:32:56.:32:59.

counterattack or chase down, as we saw Katie Archibald doing before. A

:33:00.:33:06.

fascinating final 14 kph in front of us here, as this race plays out over

:33:07.:33:08.

the last lap of seven. -- 14 us here, as this race plays out over

:33:09.:33:18.

front of us here. On the soggy streets of Glasgow, Pooley still

:33:19.:33:20.

riding on the front, riding comfortably. Lizzie Armitstead

:33:21.:33:28.

tucked away their in fifth place. Archibald in the blue for Scotland.

:33:29.:33:35.

-- tucked away there. Who is going to attack, who is going to put their

:33:36.:33:39.

cards on the table first here? Who is going to leave it to a sprint, or

:33:40.:33:47.

hope they can leave it to a sprint? I would say that Emma Pooley must

:33:48.:33:51.

have done 90% of the work on the front, since this group was

:33:52.:33:56.

established. I am not going to call it a breakaway, because I am not

:33:57.:33:59.

exactly sure it was an attack, as much as it was a strong pace and

:34:00.:34:04.

others just couldn't live with it. It was more of an attrition or

:34:05.:34:09.

whittling down process. -- attritional. We have had a decisive

:34:10.:34:15.

group for some time in this race now. Here's the second group on the

:34:16.:34:25.

road. Anna Christian on the left-hand side of your picture. The

:34:26.:34:31.

sun is coming out now. I don't think it will be soon enough to dry out

:34:32.:34:36.

the roads though. There will be a rainbow somewhere. Amy Roberts in

:34:37.:34:39.

the middle of that group for Wales as well. England still represented,

:34:40.:34:43.

I can see Hannah Barnes and Lucy Garner. Here we are on Argyle

:34:44.:34:49.

Street, this will be an interesting corner onto Buchanan Street, as they

:34:50.:34:54.

go through the chicane. May be the Australians are banking on a sprint.

:34:55.:34:59.

Elvin the better of the two, and maybe that is what they are going to

:35:00.:35:04.

bank on today. Just follow the wheels, see how it plays out. That

:35:05.:35:12.

is how she won her national title. But I can't help thinking that

:35:13.:35:15.

Armitstead would be the better sprinter in this group. Everybody

:35:16.:35:20.

safely round onto the slippery paving slabs.

:35:21.:35:33.

The weather, in stark contrast to the opening day of these Games. We

:35:34.:35:40.

have had everything at the same time here, it is sunny and pouring with

:35:41.:35:45.

rain at the same time. Indecisive. It is sunny at the finish now, they

:35:46.:35:50.

are only about two streets away, it hasn't reached there yet. They will

:35:51.:35:54.

make a left-hand turn into St Vincent Street. It is suddenly all

:35:55.:35:58.

got very, very tactical. It is cagey and it has become tense. The one to

:35:59.:36:04.

me that I can't work out what she is going to do is Linda Villumsen, she

:36:05.:36:08.

is hanging at the back all the way through, we are down to just 12

:36:09.:36:12.

kilometres to go now. Maybe she will launch one more attack, because a

:36:13.:36:16.

rider of her calibre, I just come believe she will see it through to

:36:17.:36:19.

the finish and have a sprint and see what happens, I am sure she will be

:36:20.:36:22.

more proactive than that. And they are nearly coming to a standstill

:36:23.:36:31.

here. Very, very tactical here, that was Lizzie Armitstead just

:36:32.:36:33.

freewheeling to the edge of the road and now back to the middle. Ashleigh

:36:34.:36:35.

Moolman on the right-hand side of your picture from South Africa,

:36:36.:36:38.

Cromwell in the white hat, the South African just asked up the pace

:36:39.:36:43.

again. Villumsen is in third, in the Black of New Zealand. That was the

:36:44.:36:46.

right thing to do, but not necessarily from the front. If she

:36:47.:36:49.

had actually done that from an attack, it actually might have been

:36:50.:36:53.

allowed to work while the other two teams looked at each other and

:36:54.:36:58.

decided who was going to chase. So, very strong to still be in this

:36:59.:37:01.

group and looking relatively comfortable, but tactically a little

:37:02.:37:04.

bit naive there, I have to say. Archibald again on the back. And

:37:05.:37:16.

Pooley, who had been loitering at the back of that group for the last

:37:17.:37:19.

couple of minutes, I was just wondering whether we had seen the

:37:20.:37:22.

last of her at the front or not, well there is the answer. The

:37:23.:37:26.

Australians know what is happening here, they know that Pooley is being

:37:27.:37:32.

used to draw the string, and it is frustrating, because there's nothing

:37:33.:37:35.

they can do about it. She is so strong, they can't let have any

:37:36.:37:39.

leeway. Even then they allowed her to have three or four seconds

:37:40.:37:42.

advantage before they got onto the chase. Bike handling skills suddenly

:37:43.:37:48.

coming into this race now. She is making the race happened now on this

:37:49.:37:53.

last lap. Our camera motorbikes are getting very close to the action

:37:54.:37:57.

here. It is OK from the side, but when they are in front they are

:37:58.:38:00.

really aiding the breakaway attempts. Lizzie Armitstead had a

:38:01.:38:05.

problem with that in the national championships and believe that the

:38:06.:38:08.

camera motorbikes played a part in her losing that the title earlier

:38:09.:38:12.

this year. Katie Archibald just off the back of the group here. This is

:38:13.:38:18.

perfect for Lizzie Armitstead. The Australians forced to do all of the

:38:19.:38:23.

chasing. A beautiful shot there from a tourist 's point of view, but not

:38:24.:38:29.

for the riders. Emma Pooley has got a gap there. This has become very

:38:30.:38:33.

serious for the Australian two, perfect for the England team. They

:38:34.:38:38.

have forced the Australians in the chasing. This is very, very

:38:39.:38:40.

interesting here, as Emma Pooley chasing. This is very, very

:38:41.:38:43.

races through the streets towards the West End. Shara Gillow, sorry,

:38:44.:38:50.

Tiffany Cromwell leading the chase for Australia. Three seconds lead,

:38:51.:38:54.

Tiffany Cromwell leading the chase it is very slender, all she needs is

:38:55.:38:56.

a couple of small climbs, which she is going to get shortly, and that

:38:57.:39:02.

could be enough to let Pooley force this gap to happen. Wouldn't it be a

:39:03.:39:07.

fantastic way for her to finish her career? Still a lot can happen in

:39:08.:39:11.

the final 10.3 kilometres, but working well at the moment from

:39:12.:39:16.

England's point of view, with Lizzie Armitstead sitting there and

:39:17.:39:19.

allowing others to chase and tire themselves out, and Katie Archibald

:39:20.:39:22.

in that familiar position, trying to hang on to the coat-tails of that

:39:23.:39:25.

leading group that they look as though they are starting to

:39:26.:39:27.

disappear into the distance as they go into Kelvingrove Park. This could

:39:28.:39:33.

be the death knell for Archibald. I am not sure the pace will ease for

:39:34.:39:41.

long enough. Emma Pooley has been pegged to seconds, and all it needs

:39:42.:39:47.

is one slight ease behind and she will be away and she went be seen

:39:48.:39:52.

again. At the moment, she is drawing the sting of some of the others, but

:39:53.:39:55.

as you say, Chris, if it works her way, she could end up winning the

:39:56.:40:01.

whole thing. It looks like they are pulling her back now. Yes, Gracie

:40:02.:40:06.

Elvin now is doing the chasing. With Tiffany Cromwell. Lizzie Armitstead

:40:07.:40:13.

just sitting on their heels. Pooley is cornering really well in these

:40:14.:40:20.

terrible conditions. And it is just being held at a steady 50 metres.

:40:21.:40:24.

That is all you need. If you can keep it at 50 metres until that

:40:25.:40:28.

happens, just a slight ease while there is a changing of the guard,

:40:29.:40:33.

and you grab another ten metres and another ten metres, it could be made

:40:34.:40:38.

to stick. A war of attrition it is. Archibald Justus know when to give

:40:39.:40:41.

up, she is absolutely giving anything to try and hang in there.

:40:42.:40:46.

-- just doesn't know when to give up. We are on University Avenue, not

:40:47.:40:52.

quite on great George Street yet. This is deep enough for Pooley. She

:40:53.:40:55.

has done an awful lot of work in this race so far in service to

:40:56.:41:00.

Lizzie Armitstead, who is in the perfect position, sat in the

:41:01.:41:03.

wheels, just watching to see how it develops, but wouldn't it be

:41:04.:41:07.

fantastic if Emma Pooley could pull this off? And she has got some more,

:41:08.:41:13.

Simon. Absolutely, England do have two very strong cards here, but Emma

:41:14.:41:17.

Pooley in a great position in this race. We just had a little glimpse

:41:18.:41:21.

of the chasing group, and they stop to look at each other, that is all

:41:22.:41:25.

Pooley needs. If she keeps the pressure onto the next two

:41:26.:41:29.

kilometres, she can take this title. If they just up momentarily, it

:41:30.:41:33.

could give Katie Archibald the chance to drive back onto the end of

:41:34.:41:37.

that group. Here is the front of the race once more. Out on Byres Road,

:41:38.:41:43.

the furthest point of the course. This is the decisive moment for Emma

:41:44.:41:49.

Pooley. This is not her favoured terrain here, she has got to make it

:41:50.:41:52.

stick for these few 100 metres until she gets back onto the next climb.

:41:53.:41:57.

She could gain a little bit more now as they go to great George Street,

:41:58.:42:02.

one of the steep, nasty little climbs, a real strength. One of the

:42:03.:42:08.

few who could disrupt things here is Linda Villumsen, sat at the back

:42:09.:42:12.

just watching. But has she got the strength to do that? I am sure she

:42:13.:42:16.

has to try something because otherwise she could end up with no

:42:17.:42:21.

medal at all very easily. Tiffany Cromwell I think leading the chase

:42:22.:42:25.

for Australia. Actually, it is Lizzie Armitstead who is going

:42:26.:42:30.

across. Armitstead wants this title. It was Cromwell who looked as though

:42:31.:42:34.

she had instigated it in the gutter, but Lizzie Armitstead straight up

:42:35.:42:37.

the middle-of-the-road go straight past her own team-mate. Well, she

:42:38.:42:42.

wants this title, she has so often got second place is in major

:42:43.:42:45.

competitions, she wants to make this one has, and that was such a

:42:46.:42:51.

powerful attack. They had absolutely no answer there at all. An

:42:52.:42:55.

incredible surge from Lizzie Armitstead, right at the centre of

:42:56.:42:59.

the road, and this is her bid for glory. It was perfect teamwork

:43:00.:43:05.

actually, Pooley just can't be ignored, they had to work so hard,

:43:06.:43:09.

Lizzie Armitstead sat on the back of the two Australians, let them work,

:43:10.:43:12.

until they thought -- she thought they had been softened up enough and

:43:13.:43:19.

then she attacked. Here is the front of the race. And behind I do think

:43:20.:43:23.

Pooley has given up, so we could see a gold and silver going to England

:43:24.:43:28.

here, with that fantastic set of tactical moves that they employed.

:43:29.:43:32.

That was just such a strong move up that climb up great George Street

:43:33.:43:37.

from Lizzie Armitstead. She has looked so comfortable in this race.

:43:38.:43:41.

Here's Emma Pooley, still driving ahead in second. Behind is Villumsen

:43:42.:43:49.

and Cromwell. Here comes Emma Pooley, she has not given up yet, as

:43:50.:43:53.

you say. Armitstead has made her dead. There rather chases, it is

:43:54.:43:57.

Villumsen and I am sure it is Tiffany Cromwell, third and fourth.

:43:58.:44:01.

There are way too many motorbikes now getting involved in this race.

:44:02.:44:08.

They give a tremendous amount of support to the riders

:44:09.:44:09.

They give a tremendous amount of slipstream and measured not be there

:44:10.:44:13.

in the gap that is just 15 metres wide. They need to make sure they

:44:14.:44:18.

are out of the way and allow the race to evolve, with Armitstead

:44:19.:44:22.

pressing on. No time to hang about. Pooley not too far behind her. She

:44:23.:44:27.

has the bit between her teeth now. This is the second concerted effort

:44:28.:44:30.

I have see her make in this entire race, and tactically she has written

:44:31.:44:34.

this beautifully. Pooley holding onto the silver medal position but

:44:35.:44:38.

it is still far from a done deal. You look behind you, the race is

:44:39.:44:42.

just 50 metres behind her, this is going to go all the way to the line,

:44:43.:44:46.

even if it is not a sprint. What a final lap we have here, Lizzie

:44:47.:44:50.

Armitstead from England, so close four years ago in Delhi, now taking

:44:51.:44:55.

on Park Circus for the last time, the seventh and final time here in

:44:56.:45:00.

this women's road race. Despite that super strong attack that put her

:45:01.:45:04.

into the lead, Lizzie Armitstead is pegged at maybe 100 metres at the

:45:05.:45:08.

moment, so this race is still up for grabs here, just depending on what

:45:09.:45:12.

is happening behind. The motorbike cameras seem to have stayed with

:45:13.:45:15.

Armitstead and Pooley but we would really like to have a good look at

:45:16.:45:20.

what the chases are doing. As you say, Lizzie Armitstead Willie has

:45:21.:45:23.

the bit between her teeth that you can sense that Emma Pooley is still

:45:24.:45:31.

not too far the hind. -- behind. This motorbike should not be

:45:32.:45:35.

interfering in the race. She's getting tremendous assistance from

:45:36.:45:37.

it and that could be one of the things that is keeping the gap down.

:45:38.:45:41.

Even if she did get back to Lizzie Armitstead, Armitstead is the

:45:42.:45:45.

stronger sprinter by far. But it looks like it has bit up behind.

:45:46.:45:49.

Tiffany Cromwell and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. Ashleigh Pasio has

:45:50.:46:00.

written a very canny race, kept with them but not really touched the

:46:01.:46:05.

front until the final lap. Back onto Souchiehall Street. She is heading

:46:06.:46:08.

back in towards the centre, as you can see. Five and a half kilometres

:46:09.:46:12.

to go before the end of the race. At the moment, it is looking good for

:46:13.:46:15.

Lizzie Armitstead of England, but she is far from home and hosed. Emma

:46:16.:46:21.

Pooley is in second on her own. Will she finish with the silver medal for

:46:22.:46:24.

the second time in the last few days? She is not necessarily the

:46:25.:46:30.

sharpest of the riders but she is very consistent. If you give her

:46:31.:46:34.

just 50 metres, she is not going to be easy to take back. This is the

:46:35.:46:39.

race of the bronze medal, Linda Villumsen in the black, Ashleigh

:46:40.:46:42.

Moolman-Pasio South Africa and Tiffany Cromwell of Australia. 13

:46:43.:46:46.

seconds the lead that Lizzie Armitstead has been given. I don't

:46:47.:46:52.

know if that is over Emma Pooley but it might be. Behind her, it looks

:46:53.:46:55.

like the chasers behind Pooley have lost

:46:56.:46:59.

like the chasers behind Pooley have Villumsen, well, I expected more

:47:00.:47:02.

from her tactically in this event. She has found herself in the fight

:47:03.:47:05.

for the bronze medal and I think that is what it will remain. They

:47:06.:47:09.

are working between themselves but they don't look committed to try to

:47:10.:47:15.

overhaul Emma Pooley. Of the leading group seven, Katie Archibald of

:47:16.:47:18.

Scotland and Gracie Elvin of Australia are the two who appear to

:47:19.:47:21.

be out of the race for any of the medals. This is the race for the

:47:22.:47:26.

bronze. Lizzie Armitstead on her own up ahead, ahead of Emma Pooley. At

:47:27.:47:31.

the moment, and England one-two in the women's road race. They are

:47:32.:47:36.

starting to look at each other. If that is the decision may have made,

:47:37.:47:39.

they would be better off to stop riding and just think about

:47:40.:47:42.

sprinting and attacking. Just riding through is not helping any of them.

:47:43.:47:50.

This is a great ride by Armitstead. It was a very courageous thing to

:47:51.:47:54.

do, to chase your team-mate when she already had a winning gap. It was

:47:55.:47:57.

one of those moves that you either make it work or you will not be

:47:58.:48:02.

popular in the clubhouse. She went storming past Pooley. She was the

:48:03.:48:07.

protective rider. It was her responsibility to take the victory.

:48:08.:48:10.

Through Nelson Mandela Place for the last time. Lizzie Armitstead, at the

:48:11.:48:16.

moment, in pole position for the gold medal. Here comes Emma Pooley.

:48:17.:48:21.

What a ride from her as well, in her final race before retirement, superb

:48:22.:48:28.

from start to finish. Armitstead is still looking composed. Well, she

:48:29.:48:34.

has got the medal, now. She can keep it together, keep the pressure on.

:48:35.:48:38.

She has got a couple more seconds. She's being given the gaps. She

:48:39.:48:42.

knows what is going on behind her. She just has to negotiate one last

:48:43.:48:47.

climb, and a tricky little ride through Rottenrow, coming down to

:48:48.:48:54.

the finish. Emma Pooley has extended her lead. I don't think she will be

:48:55.:48:58.

seen again, either. We are looking at gold and silver, here. Far more

:48:59.:49:02.

likely to be a game between Qatar mouse between these three, the

:49:03.:49:05.

closer they get to the finishing line, as they go to -- go for the

:49:06.:49:11.

bronze medal. But back with the leader. It is hurting but she knows

:49:12.:49:20.

it is going to be worth it. Digging deep, now, the last climb of the

:49:21.:49:25.

Commonwealth Games road race. She is over the top, now, just the corners

:49:26.:49:30.

to negotiate before she drives back down to Glasgow Green. She will be

:49:31.:49:34.

glad to see the back of Montrose Street, as will Emma Pooley. This

:49:35.:49:38.

has been a fantastic ride by her. She has done so much work in this

:49:39.:49:43.

race. The English team have ridden so well as a team. They have been

:49:44.:49:47.

focused throughout the race. They have been decisive in everything

:49:48.:49:51.

they have done. And now Tiffany Cromwell is trying to get away from

:49:52.:49:54.

the other two in the race for the bronze medal. It is not impossible

:49:55.:49:58.

that with an attack like this, Cromwell could close the gap to Emma

:49:59.:50:05.

Pooley. I think it is unlikely. Emma Pooley has been doing an awful lot

:50:06.:50:08.

of work in this race and the terrain is not ideal for chasing back. They

:50:09.:50:16.

have managed a gap between themselves and Linda Villumsen on

:50:17.:50:19.

the final climb. Cromwell, potentially managing to get rid of

:50:20.:50:22.

Linda Villumsen, as you say but here is the leader once more. Just

:50:23.:50:28.

turning into Rottenrow, 50 metres of cobbles. You can see the special

:50:29.:50:33.

surface they have put down to stop the cobbles being too slippery but

:50:34.:50:36.

she is no stranger to riding on this surface. She said ahead of this that

:50:37.:50:43.

she absolutely loves this course, and the harder the race, the better

:50:44.:50:48.

for her. In the end, it was Lizzie Armitstead who made it really hard

:50:49.:50:52.

on the final lap. Linda Villumsen, trying to stay in contention for the

:50:53.:50:55.

bronze as the attack comes from Tiffany Cromwell once more to try to

:50:56.:50:58.

get rid of Ashleigh Moolman of South Africa. She might miss out on a

:50:59.:51:03.

medal, Linda Villumsen but she has a ready got a gold. She can consult

:51:04.:51:12.

herself with that. -- already got. She can consult herself. I thought

:51:13.:51:16.

she might be waiting for a tactical move but it looked like she was not

:51:17.:51:20.

using her energy well and did not have any more to give. A slippery

:51:21.:51:29.

corner, now. Steady, around the right-hander. They begin the run

:51:30.:51:33.

into the heart of the city. Here is Lizzie Armitstead. She knows how to

:51:34.:51:37.

win on this course, having already done so, a year ago, taking the

:51:38.:51:42.

national title. On London Road, which will bring her back to Glasgow

:51:43.:51:47.

Green. The final few bends will line her up alongside the River Clyde,

:51:48.:51:50.

then back up to the finishing straight. One lap of the park to

:51:51.:51:58.

go. Less than two kilometres to go now, the Lizzie Armitstead of

:51:59.:52:02.

England. Motivated by near misses in recent times. So close, in the rain,

:52:03.:52:08.

in the London Olympics, beating by Marianne Voss in front of Buckingham

:52:09.:52:12.

Palace. -- beaten by. She is not going to be denied, today. Emma

:52:13.:52:17.

Pooley, the chaser, out on the road, heading for her second silver medal

:52:18.:52:21.

of the week. A worthy and popular silver medal, two, heading fast

:52:22.:52:25.

towards retirement, after an illustrious career. You can see the

:52:26.:52:31.

fight for bronze is starting to take shape. It looks like it will come

:52:32.:52:37.

down to a strength. -- sprint. But not for Lizzie Armitstead. She is

:52:38.:52:43.

looking good on the bike, as she has done throughout this race, focused,

:52:44.:52:48.

composed, and very much in form. Lizzie Armitstead is going to win

:52:49.:52:51.

this one in a grand manner, on her own. One well timed attack, after

:52:52.:53:00.

some beautiful teamwork, self-sacrificing from Emma Pooley,

:53:01.:53:05.

wearing down the opposition. Lizzie Armitstead timed her move to

:53:06.:53:09.

perfection. Well, it is all very well being the favourite for the

:53:10.:53:12.

gold-medal but you still have to make it happen. You have to deal

:53:13.:53:16.

with the pressure of the expectation. Lizzie Armitstead has

:53:17.:53:21.

more than done that, here. This has been an absolutely superb ride. It

:53:22.:53:25.

is going to lead to the gold medal in the next minute or so. A couple

:53:26.:53:29.

of right-handers, and then she will see the welcome sight of the

:53:30.:53:33.

finishing line, directly in front of her. The whole England team took

:53:34.:53:37.

this race by the scruff of the neck. I wondered if they were doing too

:53:38.:53:42.

much, too early but they used their troops beautifully. Nobody would be

:53:43.:53:45.

more welcomed by Lizzie Armitstead's side in the breakaway

:53:46.:53:50.

than Emma Pooley. A fantastic tactical and physical race. The race

:53:51.:53:53.

than the bronze medal is very much on behind. Emma Pooley is heading

:53:54.:53:58.

for the silver medal. Here comes the final turn, for Lizzie Armitstead.

:53:59.:54:03.

She can enjoy the moment. This will not be a sprint to the line, but a

:54:04.:54:07.

ride to glory and gold for Lizzie Armitstead. So close, four years

:54:08.:54:13.

ago, in Delhi, tipped on the line by Rochelle Gilmore in the sprint, and

:54:14.:54:17.

so close in London, losing out to Marianne Voss. She will not be

:54:18.:54:22.

denied in Glasgow. Lizzie Armitstead is going to take the gold medal.

:54:23.:54:29.

Nobody insight. Nobody close. -- within sight. It is gold, for Lizzie

:54:30.:54:32.

Armitstead and England in the women's road race. She is absolutely

:54:33.:54:40.

delighted. At last she crosses the line in first place. Always in the

:54:41.:54:45.

hunt but coming in second. And now Emma Pooley. What a fantastic ride

:54:46.:54:50.

in her final race. She is going to retire as she crosses the line, with

:54:51.:54:53.

silver in the time trial on Thursday, very emotional, now. It

:54:54.:55:00.

was a superb effort. It has yielded a second silver medal of the week.

:55:01.:55:04.

And the curtain comes down on a fantastic cycling career, that has

:55:05.:55:09.

included a World Championship gold medal and an Olympic silver. It is

:55:10.:55:14.

her second Commonwealth Games silver from Glasgow, 2014. And now the race

:55:15.:55:18.

is on the bronze medal and Linda Villumsen of New Zealand has come

:55:19.:55:22.

back into it, on the front at the moment with Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio

:55:23.:55:25.

behind her, and Tiffany Cromwell of Australia. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio

:55:26.:55:32.

comes to the front, for South Africa. I am not sure if Tiffany

:55:33.:55:36.

Cromwell has got these bread to come past her, or has she? Elbow to

:55:37.:55:41.

elbow, towards the line. Maybe Tiffany Cromwell is just timing it

:55:42.:55:49.

to perfection. It was so close. And what a shot, there. It is an English

:55:50.:56:00.

one-two, for Armitstead and Pooley. Beautifully executed ride by the

:56:01.:56:05.

English team. It was absolutely textbook, some beautiful riding. Not

:56:06.:56:10.

just physically, but tactically as well. What a fantastic spread the

:56:11.:56:16.

bronze medal. Do you know? It might have gone to South Africa. I don't

:56:17.:56:24.

think Cromwell got it. It may well have gone to the South African. A

:56:25.:56:30.

celebratory hug from Linda Villumsen, who tasted victory

:56:31.:56:34.

herself a few days ago. Here comes Katie Archibald, behind Gracie

:56:35.:56:38.

Elvin. A tremendous roar for the 20-year-old as she comes towards the

:56:39.:56:42.

line. It was a brave ride from Archibald. She hung in with the

:56:43.:56:46.

leaders for a long time in this race before finally having to give way.

:56:47.:56:53.

And there, sixth place, taken on the line by Gracie Elvin, and Katie

:56:54.:56:59.

Archibald in seven, two minutes and 19 seconds down. There is the

:57:00.:57:02.

winner, Lizzie Armitstead. Chris, she dealt with the pressure so

:57:03.:57:09.

well. She is all ready with Jill Douglas. That is a beautiful smile

:57:10.:57:17.

for the Commonwealth champion, to be denied in Delhi and London, what

:57:18.:57:22.

does this mean to you? I can call myself a champion and not runner-up.

:57:23.:57:26.

I have been runner-up the whole season. I was never off the podium

:57:27.:57:30.

but only three wins. I'm really happy. It was textbook, what a

:57:31.:57:35.

fantastic team performance. It is the best cycling team work I have

:57:36.:57:39.

ever been apart. It is such a shame that Emma Pooley is retiring today

:57:40.:57:43.

and we finally got it sorted. Fantastic job from all of the girls.

:57:44.:57:47.

I was ready proud of them. Emma Pooley really animated the race,

:57:48.:57:52.

took the sting out of the Australians' legs, and when you came

:57:53.:57:57.

past, it was like a train. It was a difficult situation. I saw they did

:57:58.:58:03.

not quite have the speed. I was so easy for the whole race. I did not

:58:04.:58:07.

touch the front. I thought, win or lose, I'm going for it. How did it

:58:08.:58:12.

feel to cross the line? Special, surreal, something I've always dream

:58:13.:58:17.

about. It means so much to me. A fantastic win and no ill effects

:58:18.:58:21.

after last week's crash in Paris? Just a few cuts and bruises. What do

:58:22.:58:26.

you have to say to the young lady standing beside you? Just a massive

:58:27.:58:31.

thank you. Cycling is a beautiful sport, team sport and it often gets

:58:32.:58:39.

overlooked so I'm delighted for you getting the silver. So often, a

:58:40.:58:41.

team-mate does not get the medal and the podium but to see Emma Pooley

:58:42.:58:46.

with another silver medal... Don't say I'm disappointed. We saw it

:58:47.:58:49.

meant so much to you coming over the line. It was quite unexpected. I did

:58:50.:58:54.

not think, we were working for Lizzie and I wanted to give

:58:55.:58:59.

everything, you don't do a half job, because I'm not as strong as her

:59:00.:59:04.

inner road race. But when she came past me, I was still clear, and I

:59:05.:59:07.

thought I might as deep going if they were not on my wheel. You take

:59:08.:59:12.

the chances you get. Really pleased. Lizzie rode a perfect race but she

:59:13.:59:16.

had a good team behind her. I don't know if you saw the whole race but

:59:17.:59:20.

the young girls are really strong. It is great and the future is

:59:21.:59:25.

bright. I don't feel like I am letting anyone down. There will be

:59:26.:59:29.

plenty of riders to keep us going. This is your last major race, as

:59:30.:59:33.

well. That brings its own emotion. Definitely, and it was nice to

:59:34.:59:37.

finish on a high, I have to say. I was not dreading it but I have a lot

:59:38.:59:43.

of respect for road racers, and anything can happen. I was so happy

:59:44.:59:47.

after the time trial. I was worried I might not do my job in the road

:59:48.:59:51.

race properly. I'm pleased we got it right. It is a lovely way to finish

:59:52.:59:55.

in this sport. It is really nice and I know my family is watching. And

:59:56.:00:01.

lots of friends. It has been a long nine years. I am really happy. And

:00:02.:00:07.

the crowd was amazing as well. Sorry, I'm getting all pathetic in

:00:08.:00:13.

my old age! It was really lovely. You did us proud. Congratulations.

:00:14.:00:24.

Crisp Boardman alongside me, a stunning performance from Lizzie

:00:25.:00:32.

Armitstead. It was a fantastic race, and I thought maybe the New Zealand

:00:33.:00:38.

team -- the England team played their cards too early but they use

:00:39.:00:43.

their numbers perfectly. Emma Pooley's name was in dispatches all

:00:44.:00:47.

the way through the attacking, chasing, whatever it might be, she

:00:48.:00:52.

was doing it. The race came down to about 20 riders very quickly after

:00:53.:00:57.

the start, and it was Australia who initially began to animate it. They

:00:58.:01:00.

clearly decided, and I am not sure it was the right thing to do, but

:01:01.:01:03.

they decided they would try to force the breakaway. For the first 20

:01:04.:01:08.

riders going through the corners it is not too difficult to sit in the

:01:09.:01:10.

wheels, so it was easy for their opponents to follow. I think the

:01:11.:01:16.

likes of Hoskins must be bitterly disappointed that they did not make

:01:17.:01:19.

the breakaway there. Katie Archibald, who rode very vaguely for

:01:20.:01:26.

Scotland is with Jill now. Katie, a very strong ride. -- rode very

:01:27.:01:33.

bravely full stop a very gutsy performance. Probably an atomic blow

:01:34.:01:40.

at the end, for the last three laps I knew, I was thinking I am screwed

:01:41.:01:44.

here, I am so screwed. It was just holding on for as long as I could.

:01:45.:01:50.

It was nice to finish close at the end. Seventh is seventh. Hey Ho. The

:01:51.:01:56.

summary who obviously trains for the track, and you have not gone huge

:01:57.:02:00.

amount of bunched road racing to get into that break was important and an

:02:01.:02:05.

impressive ride. Yes, there were two attacks I saw that had Pooley and

:02:06.:02:08.

Armitstead, and I thought you have to go with that. It is only seeing

:02:09.:02:13.

as far as you can see are not thinking about the whole race. I

:02:14.:02:18.

thought I had not gone over two hours and about a month now. I am

:02:19.:02:24.

pretty pleased with how it went. Not to make excuses, but I am happy, I

:02:25.:02:28.

think that is really good for me. A lot of people out there willing you

:02:29.:02:33.

on. Yes, God, that was mad. You just forgot about the more tired I get

:02:34.:02:43.

the pushing was coming from higher up my body, and eventually was just

:02:44.:02:48.

coming from my ears. A brave and courageous ride from Katie

:02:49.:02:50.

Archibald, and a great games she has had. Emma Pooley, it was lap five

:02:51.:02:56.

when things started to make the decisive selection. She just drove

:02:57.:03:01.

so hard, she just blew the group apart. It was not even an attack.

:03:02.:03:05.

She just broke it down to five riders, seven riders, then she sat

:03:06.:03:09.

on the front and roads to keep it together. Lots of chats with Lizzie

:03:10.:03:13.

Armitstead. Deciding the tactics. And then that final attack, which

:03:14.:03:18.

was incredible. That final attack that we saw on the final lap before

:03:19.:03:23.

Lizzie eventually went, the idea there was what exactly? She just

:03:24.:03:28.

wanted to draw the string. You had to strong competitors with the

:03:29.:03:31.

Australian and an unknown in Villumsen, which did not turn out at

:03:32.:03:34.

the end, but with the Australians you could not let them take the

:03:35.:03:39.

initiative. Pooley attacked and she can't be ignored, she forced them to

:03:40.:03:42.

chase, even when she only had 30 metres, she stuck at it. They both

:03:43.:03:46.

had to get into the chase. Meanwhile, Lizzie Armitstead wakened

:03:47.:03:52.

in the wheels until they had been softened up enough -- waited in the

:03:53.:03:55.

wheels will stop that is a courageous thing to do, when you

:03:56.:03:59.

have a team-mate in a winning position to attack and potentially

:04:00.:04:02.

bring the race back to them, that is a dangerous thing to do. In

:04:03.:04:07.

Lizzie's mind, winning was the only thing on her mind off the back of

:04:08.:04:13.

two silver medals in Delhi and at the Olympics. She knew she could do

:04:14.:04:22.

it. In terms of Lizzie's career, it is the biggest win so far. This

:04:23.:04:26.

might be a springboard on the even greater things. In terms of the

:04:27.:04:29.

British public, apart from London, we have not seen her so much. It has

:04:30.:04:33.

all been about the girls on the track. Lizzie has hardly been out of

:04:34.:04:38.

the top five in all of the racing she has done this year. A tremendous

:04:39.:04:42.

competitor. Just hasn't quite been getting that finishing it off at the

:04:43.:04:46.

end. This is her first big breakthrough, so hopefully that will

:04:47.:04:50.

make a difference to her. Also very bravely, she fell in Paris in the

:04:51.:04:54.

race at the end of the Tour de France, and when the rain started

:04:55.:04:57.

come down on that last lap, you might start to get a bit tentative

:04:58.:05:02.

on the bike. I think they all were. One of the benefits of having a real

:05:03.:05:05.

circuit, apart from the spectators, for a championship is that they get

:05:06.:05:09.

to know and understand the roads they are on and get a feel for it.

:05:10.:05:12.

All of that changed when it started raining at the end and changed it

:05:13.:05:18.

into a different circuit. Let's see that great moment when Lizzie

:05:19.:05:21.

Armitstead cross the line. There was a real sense of relief for her. When

:05:22.:05:25.

you are the favoured and you know you will be marked, Sony things can

:05:26.:05:29.

go wrong. She did exactly what she had to do, waited and waited and

:05:30.:05:33.

made one attack in whole race to get away. It must be relief -- so many

:05:34.:05:42.

things can go wrong. It is really nice to see somebody come down the

:05:43.:05:45.

finishing straight and really enjoying what they have just

:05:46.:05:46.

achieved. As you said, through the race, she

:05:47.:05:54.

always looked comfortable, she looked like the form rider. She was

:05:55.:05:57.

always looked comfortable, she in control the whole race, watching

:05:58.:06:01.

the other riders, watching what was going to happen, speaking to her

:06:02.:06:04.

team, dictating the moves and she looked like a proper team leader.

:06:05.:06:06.

That is Emma Pooley, it was silver for

:06:07.:06:17.

but she has a big part of that gold around her neck. If there was a

:06:18.:06:20.

woman of the match, she would get it, no doubt. She totally gave it up

:06:21.:06:28.

in service of Lizzie. She has really got someone to thank there, Lizzie.

:06:29.:06:32.

First and second very clear for a loan but there was a sprint finish

:06:33.:06:35.

for third. Simon Brotherton can clear that up.

:06:36.:06:44.

In the sprint for bronze, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio from South Africa just

:06:45.:06:52.

edging out Tiffany Cromwell on the line, by no more than a few

:06:53.:06:56.

millimetres. Linda Villumsen from New Zealand in fifth place. Katie

:06:57.:07:04.

Archibald seventh for Scotland. Dani King 12 for England. Hannah Barnes

:07:05.:07:09.

in 13th place. Then Lucy Garner 20th and Laura Trott 21st, and Lydia

:07:10.:07:14.

Boylan for Northern Ireland finishing in 20 Second Place. --

:07:15.:07:19.

22nd place. That clears up the result but it has

:07:20.:07:27.

all been about Lizzie Armitstead today, it was set up for her to win

:07:28.:07:31.

a gold medal. When you have that pressure on your shoulders, the

:07:32.:07:34.

expectation that was probably is great from ISAF is from anyone else,

:07:35.:07:38.

it makes that victory all the more sweet. And she got the full team

:07:39.:07:42.

support to do it, which is nice to see, they all got behind one

:07:43.:07:45.

individual. It is a courageous thing to do, to put all your eggs in one

:07:46.:07:52.

basket. There is that pressure as well, that she knows everyone has

:07:53.:07:55.

back to her and she needs to deliver. -- backed her. Emma Pooley,

:07:56.:08:02.

her last road race, she goes off to do triathlon. She can been credibly

:08:03.:08:07.

proud. In some ways, we wanted her to win as well, for that very

:08:08.:08:11.

reason. She is a very lovable person to watch because she gives it

:08:12.:08:14.

absolutely everything, and it was quite emotional watching her coming

:08:15.:08:17.

down the finishing straight to know that is it, it is over, we are not

:08:18.:08:21.

going to see this marvellous athlete doing this again. That was the

:08:22.:08:24.

women's race, the men's race off at midday. What did we learn for the

:08:25.:08:29.

men's race coming up? Clearly it won't be such a select group of 20

:08:30.:08:33.

or so riders, which will make the course a lot trickier. I think it

:08:34.:08:37.

will take a lot longer than that to happen but it will happen. We have

:08:38.:08:41.

used the word a lot today, it is an attritional course. So many bends.

:08:42.:08:45.

We have seen the riders breaking into the corners and is printing out

:08:46.:08:49.

to catch back up whereas the first riders are flowing around. It is a

:08:50.:08:52.

course to spend energy to save near the front. -- to stay in the firm.

:08:53.:08:58.

We will see a similar pattern but it will be punchy riders that went out

:08:59.:09:02.

on a course like this. Home nation hopes, none more so, locally, van

:09:03.:09:08.

with David Millar in his final season as a professional. David is a

:09:09.:09:12.

very tactical ride and this is a very tactical course. We might not

:09:13.:09:15.

necessarily see him attack on the climb but in between them. We saw a

:09:16.:09:20.

move by Emma Pooley over the top of the climbs, and we might see David

:09:21.:09:25.

do that. Perhaps it is an Isle of Man rider, and a Welsh rider, during

:09:26.:09:29.

Thomas and Peter Kenyon, nationalities and the other order,

:09:30.:09:33.

who may be favourites? Durant Thomas, he seems to be in a similar

:09:34.:09:40.

mould to Emma Pooley. -- Gerrans Thomas. I think he has it in him.

:09:41.:09:46.

Peter Kenyon is the favoured him. He will be the one to beat. The women's

:09:47.:09:52.

race was brilliant, the men's will be equilibrium. We will be back with

:09:53.:09:55.

coverage from just before 12pm. For the moment, back to you.

:09:56.:10:01.

What a great result it was to see the women go out, and a great result

:10:02.:10:06.

for England, Lizzie Armitstead taking gold and Emma Pooley taking

:10:07.:10:13.

silver. It was nearly 100 kph the course. Let's show you what else is

:10:14.:10:16.

going on in the final hours of these Commonwealth Games. On BBC Three at

:10:17.:10:20.

the moment, you can see live coverage, England's netball team are

:10:21.:10:24.

playing Jamaica. This is the bronze medal match. It is a very close

:10:25.:10:28.

match indeed, the score at the moment as you can see in the third

:10:29.:10:33.

quarter, 30-30. England lost to New Zealand in the last couple of

:10:34.:10:36.

seconds of the semifinal yesterday. New Zealand will now be playing

:10:37.:10:41.

Australia, after this at 12:30pm, for the gold medal match, and that

:10:42.:10:48.

will also be live on BBC Three. And there is hockey underway at the

:10:49.:10:51.

moment, the bronze medal match taking place between England's men

:10:52.:10:56.

and New Zealand. That is live on the website, but at the moment the score

:10:57.:11:00.

is 2-2 between New Zealand and England. They are into the second

:11:01.:11:01.

half. Here on BBC One, though, let's head

:11:02.:11:11.

out to the Badminton, take you out from our studios on Pacific Quay add

:11:12.:11:17.

to the Emirates Arena in the East End of Glasgow. That is where the

:11:18.:11:20.

Badminton action has been happening throughout these games. And there

:11:21.:11:24.

has been a great reception this morning over at the Emirates Arena

:11:25.:11:28.

for husband and wife pairing, Chris and Gabby Adcock, and fourth seeds

:11:29.:11:32.

Chris language and Heather over in the final of the Badminton mixed

:11:33.:11:37.

doubles. The Adcocks are wearing red today, and they won the first game

:11:38.:11:42.

come to be. Remember it is the best of three games. -- first games

:11:43.:11:49.

comfortably. Your commentators are David Mercer and Jill Clark.

:11:50.:12:11.

JILL CLARK: I know it is only one rally, but look at the positioning.

:12:12.:12:25.

They have pushed the Adcocks into the defensive stance.

:12:26.:12:48.

Brilliant! And the fact there was constant verbal communication

:12:49.:13:05.

between Chris Langridge and Oliver in that rally. Maybe they are just

:13:06.:13:09.

not early morning people. I know a few who fall into that category.

:13:10.:13:29.

David, you were mentioning during the opening game about the fact that

:13:30.:13:35.

these two pairs train against each other on a regular basis, daily, at

:13:36.:13:39.

the National training Centre in Milton Keynes. You know, and I think

:13:40.:13:45.

there is a real importance of the psychological effect. If you

:13:46.:13:50.

training institute than you keep beating a player or pair in

:13:51.:13:54.

training, it does actually gives you confidence when you come into the

:13:55.:14:00.

match situation. And I know that sometimes in practice and training

:14:01.:14:04.

sessions, you maybe try something out in a sparring game, but I can

:14:05.:14:08.

remember our colleague, Morten Frost, I remember him at the

:14:09.:14:13.

training and practice sessions, and he always had a real intensity. If

:14:14.:14:19.

he was playing a practice game, and it was against a top in which

:14:20.:14:24.

player, Stephen Baddeley, or Nick Yates, Darren Hall, the players of

:14:25.:14:29.

that Iraq, he would take them on one after another and play, and play to

:14:30.:14:35.

win. And that psychological effect, whenever they met at a tournament,

:14:36.:14:38.

was huge. And I am just watching that -- just watching this now, and

:14:39.:14:47.

I'm just getting the idea that Langridge and Oliver, not only

:14:48.:14:51.

because they have lost to them in national championships, but maybe

:14:52.:14:56.

also in training in a daily basis, I am not sure they necessarily have

:14:57.:15:00.

that in a bully. Of course they will say to themselves this is a

:15:01.:15:03.

Commonwealth Games final, we can win, our opponents might get

:15:04.:15:08.

nervous, as indeed Chris Adcock and Andy Ellis did in the men's doubles

:15:09.:15:13.

yesterday, but I am just not seeing the overt belief at the moment.

:15:14.:15:29.

APPLAUSE That is nicely played from Heather

:15:30.:17:16.

Olver. That is what she has got to do more of, stand her ground at the

:17:17.:17:24.

net. Yes, there she is. That is good play. A good catch by the surface

:17:25.:17:28.

judge, too. net. Yes, there she is. That is good

:17:29.:17:33.

play. A good catch Well, he is Jamaican. I am sure he has got some

:17:34.:17:35.

cricketing skills. She is frustrated that she missed

:17:36.:17:48.

it. But I think she has got to stay at that net position.

:17:49.:19:01.

Not the interval, of course, but the mop is out there, as you can see,

:19:02.:19:09.

clearing up some perspiration on the court. I can tell you that the court

:19:10.:19:17.

gets very slippery, and any moisture on it, and Chris Langridge is

:19:18.:19:22.

pointing out a couple more spots. Yes, it will be where the players

:19:23.:19:27.

stand, either to serve all receive. Perspiration drops down. -- to

:19:28.:19:34.

serve, or receive. Especially off the face and onto the court surface.

:19:35.:19:39.

It gets very hot under the TV lights. And 6000 people in the

:19:40.:19:45.

arena, contributing quite a lot of heat themselves.

:19:46.:19:58.

Heather Olver, struggling on the defensive play.

:19:59.:20:10.

Not ideal, lifting crosscourt to invite the smash down onto his

:20:11.:20:15.

partner. Yes, Chris and Gabby Adcock,

:20:16.:20:35.

absolutely pressurising the Heather Olver defence, all of those

:20:36.:20:43.

attacking shots aimed at her. Well, the rallies are getting longer and

:20:44.:20:46.

more competitive. But the outcome is normally another point to Chris and

:20:47.:20:52.

Gabby Adcock. They led 11-4 at the interval in the first game and now

:20:53.:20:54.

they lead 11-5 in the second. Well, they went on from there to a

:20:55.:21:09.

convincing victory. These were the final moments of the All-England

:21:10.:21:13.

final. Chris and Gabby Adcock, living up to the billing as top

:21:14.:21:16.

seeds, winning the gold medal in the mixed doubles against their

:21:17.:21:24.

opponents, Chris Langridge and Heather Olver. A short while ago,

:21:25.:21:28.

they had the medal ceremony and the bronze medal went to Imogen Bankier

:21:29.:21:31.

and Robert Blair, the ScottishPower, Chris Langridge and Heather Olver

:21:32.:21:34.

with these silver, and a well-deserved gold medal, there, to

:21:35.:21:40.

Chris and Gabby Adcock of England. Winners of the mixed doubles.

:21:41.:21:55.

Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem of England.

:21:56.:22:46.

Glasgow, let's celebrate. STUDIO: Great moment for Chris and Gabby

:22:47.:23:55.

Adcock. But we are staying with badminton and the women's singles

:23:56.:23:58.

final, where Kirsty Gilmour is taking on Canada's Michelle Li.

:23:59.:24:03.

Various Kirsty Gilmour, now, she is only 20 and she is taking on the

:24:04.:24:04.

third seed, Michelle Li. Lets join our commentators, Gill

:24:05.:24:12.

Clark and Morten Frost Hansen. COMMENTATOR: Only once has Scotland

:24:13.:24:26.

won a gold-medal in badminton. That was 28 years ago, before Kirsty

:24:27.:24:32.

Gilmour was even born, the men's doubles with Gilead and Travers.

:24:33.:24:38.

But one thing is certain, history will be made today. No player from

:24:39.:24:44.

either Canada or Scotland has ever won gold in the women's singles.

:24:45.:24:52.

Three seed, Michelle Li from Canada, against the number two seed, Kirsty

:24:53.:24:56.

Gilmour from Scotland. Well, for Kirsty Gilmour, what a

:24:57.:25:04.

tournament she has had, the 20-year-old from South Lanarkshire.

:25:05.:25:19.

She played quite brilliantly in her semifinal. Michelle Li, 22 years of

:25:20.:25:27.

age, born in Hong Kong but moved to Canada, aged six. Now she lives in

:25:28.:25:35.

Toronto. She has played big-game matches before, because looking at

:25:36.:25:42.

our results so far, like her opponent, she has not dropped a game

:25:43.:25:47.

so far. And that includes the number seven seed in the quarterfinals,

:25:48.:25:51.

Sarah Walker from England, and in the semifinal yesterday against the

:25:52.:25:56.

number one seed, PV Sindhu. 22-20, 22-20, she won that one. So to

:25:57.:26:03.

Kirsty Gilmour, who played in the last Commonwealth Games, and went to

:26:04.:26:08.

Delhi as a 16-year-old, for her Scottish debut. Prior to this

:26:09.:26:14.

Commonwealth Games, she said her most memorable moment was the youth

:26:15.:26:19.

Commonwealth Games in 2011 on the Isle of Man, where she won a bronze

:26:20.:26:24.

medal. I can tell you that this will be an outstanding memory, surpassing

:26:25.:26:29.

that. As you saw, all of her matches have been won in straight games.

:26:30.:26:36.

Ian Ross from England will be the service judge.

:26:37.:26:47.

Michelle Li is the fourth women's singles finalist from Canada. They

:26:48.:26:54.

have won three silver medals in the past. Michelle Li won gold at the

:26:55.:27:05.

Pan American games in 2011, and gold in the Pan-American Championships in

:27:06.:27:07.

2013. This is the biggest match of

:27:08.:27:15.

Gilmour's life so far. Final preparations. This is where

:27:16.:27:38.

the nerves and the anticipation must be settled. She played so well in

:27:39.:27:46.

her semifinal, Kirsty Gilmour, against the number four seed from

:27:47.:27:52.

Malaysia, coming from 11-19 down in the second game, winning ten

:27:53.:27:57.

straight points to close it out into games. CHEERING

:27:58.:28:00.

-- in two games. And on my left, Kirsty Gilmour from

:28:01.:28:18.

Scotland. CHEERING Her team-mates, coaches and

:28:19.:28:22.

managers, all on their feet, to welcome Kirsty Gilmour.

:28:23.:28:45.

That has gone long. Morton, I suppose the fact that history will

:28:46.:28:55.

be made, regardless of which player wins today, it will be a first gold

:28:56.:29:00.

medal in the women's singles for either nation, I suppose that adds

:29:01.:29:04.

to the drama and the tension? Absolutely it does. You have

:29:05.:29:13.

introduced the players so well, but we saw at the toss of the coin,

:29:14.:29:17.

Kirsty Gilmour won it and chose a side and she is playing on her

:29:18.:29:22.

favourite side. She is obviously hoping that whatever happens, she

:29:23.:29:24.

will be able to clinch the first game, as she has done in her

:29:25.:29:31.

previous matches. She is choosing this site because she is playing

:29:32.:29:34.

against the drift. When you do that, it is easier to keep the shuttle in

:29:35.:29:41.

on the baseline. But it looks like a rather nervous start by Kirsty

:29:42.:29:42.

Gilmour. This will do Gilmour good. The first

:29:43.:30:22.

really good rally from her and she has settled in really nicely in this

:30:23.:30:27.

one, that will do her good. I suppose the fact that Michelle Li

:30:28.:30:32.

has played in Pan-American games in a gold medal match and one those

:30:33.:30:35.

sort of matches, her experience in this sort of atmosphere and the big

:30:36.:30:43.

stage works in her advantage. Yes, she is a little bit more used to it

:30:44.:30:47.

than Gilmour is, but still, just personality wise, I think Michelle

:30:48.:30:55.

Li is a more cool person than Gilmour is.

:30:56.:31:02.

Li is a more cool person than to be nervous, Gilmour, and she has

:31:03.:31:04.

really shown that on occasions. Here she has got to rise to this very,

:31:05.:31:09.

very big occasion here. Yes, and there is no doubt the fans here at

:31:10.:31:14.

the Emirates Arena will help in that.

:31:15.:31:23.

I suppose looking at the qualities of both these players, they are both

:31:24.:31:29.

fine athletes, beautiful movers around the court. They are, and they

:31:30.:31:33.

are very fit as well. Fitness will not come into the picture here.

:31:34.:31:41.

Yesterday, we saw that fitness was a major issue, but today we have two

:31:42.:31:44.

excellent fit players in this final. I think one of the trademarks for

:31:45.:32:04.

Michelle Li is that she is prepared and very good at playing good shots

:32:05.:32:06.

under pressure. Yes, she is very creative, as we saw

:32:07.:32:21.

in that rally. The slice straight down the line, the overhead shot

:32:22.:32:26.

lead with slice, which gives it the skies. But that one is even better.

:32:27.:32:31.

If you are nervous, you don't play a shot like that. Just a good sign

:32:32.:32:37.

of, she is as cool as a cucumber, there is no doubt about it.

:32:38.:32:44.

A brilliant smash. We were talking earlier throughout the badminton

:32:45.:32:55.

competition about Kirsty Gilmour sometimes being a little too

:32:56.:33:00.

reactive, instead of proactive. You especially said you wanted to see

:33:01.:33:03.

her be more aggressive in her style of play. And that is what she needs

:33:04.:33:08.

today, because if she is not doing it, Michelle Li will take the lead

:33:09.:33:11.

that is what we are seeing the opening rallies. She is playing some

:33:12.:33:15.

devastating smashes and really good attacking shots. Gilmour will have

:33:16.:33:19.

to get in there first and really have to start attacking to avoid

:33:20.:33:26.

Michelle Li's attacking. Well, I could just see Yvette Law in the

:33:27.:33:30.

distance, one of the Scottish coaches, she was advising Gilmour,

:33:31.:33:34.

or seem to be, with her hand signals, about hitting down. So

:33:35.:33:39.

exactly what you have just said, Morten.

:33:40.:33:55.

It has gone way long on the back line and once again every rally won

:33:56.:34:01.

by Gilmour greeted by rapturous pools. -- rapturous applause. Crisp

:34:02.:34:13.

rule, the other Scottish coach, he is the one nearest to us -- Chris

:34:14.:34:28.

Brule. A very international bench Scottish are having, one from China

:34:29.:34:40.

and one from Holland. We saw yesterday Gilmour in her semifinal

:34:41.:34:47.

using the low backhand serve. Serving high so far, and that

:34:48.:34:51.

originally gives Michelle Li the opportunity to play and use some of

:34:52.:34:57.

her skills on the attack. Hopefully we will see very soon a variation.

:34:58.:35:03.

As you say, a short serve, a lower serve or even a flick serve. She

:35:04.:35:09.

will definitely have to start to vary her play and tried to unsettle

:35:10.:35:15.

Michelle Li as much as possible. -- try to.

:35:16.:35:40.

And that is nerves, that error. I can't help thinking that Kirsty

:35:41.:35:49.

Gilmour might have made the wrong choice, when she chose the good end

:35:50.:35:55.

to start off with, because I think that the nerves are really

:35:56.:35:58.

overcoming her and she cannot make good advantage of having the best

:35:59.:36:07.

side to play. Let's see, it is still early days.

:36:08.:36:29.

She may have missed, but that is lovely skill, looking at the way she

:36:30.:36:36.

comes forward to the net, racket arm outstretched. Holding the shot. She

:36:37.:36:43.

has all the options in the world. The backhand Kayal at the net, very

:36:44.:36:50.

fast forward, very little backswing. She has a 7-point advantage at the

:36:51.:36:51.

mid-game in the ball. -- in the interval. Look at this

:36:52.:37:08.

movement. So fast to see the opportunity.

:37:09.:37:32.

With the crowd, it is virtually impossible to hear what the coaches

:37:33.:37:39.

were saying about Gilmour. I think Chris was saying try to find

:37:40.:37:53.

your comfort zone, and I so agree with him. It is now time to settle

:37:54.:37:58.

the nerves, and just go all out, just full blast, and see if you can

:37:59.:38:05.

win it. The first five, six, seven, eight minutes is over. It is time to

:38:06.:38:08.

really make a move here. That is much better. Do know why I

:38:09.:38:29.

think it was good as well? She started off with a jump on that

:38:30.:38:35.

attacking clear on that serve and it showed a totally different Kirsty

:38:36.:38:38.

Gilmour here. A good shot down the line here.

:38:39.:38:50.

You see here, we have the lowest serve. The low backhand serve means

:38:51.:39:01.

that Gilmour could get on the attack first. Playing her favourite smash

:39:02.:39:09.

crosscourt theft, and what a good shot it was. It is always the little

:39:10.:39:20.

touch shops that go when you are nervous, like the net play.

:39:21.:39:32.

Unbelievable. All four quarters of the court explored in that rally and

:39:33.:40:24.

it was played to perfection. I think Gilmour was sucking up the pressure

:40:25.:40:28.

very well. The shell had to give away the initiative on that lift and

:40:29.:40:30.

then what a beautiful shot it was. Very Pressurising that deep forehand

:40:31.:40:47.

corner, and she did it with a lovely surprise. Despite the fact that

:40:48.:40:56.

Gilmour is edging back into this match, I think Michelle Li is doing

:40:57.:41:00.

really well, holding her game very well together.

:41:01.:41:09.

Yes, she has found that deep forehand again.

:41:10.:41:31.

From a tactical point of view, I think it is clever for the

:41:32.:41:36.

Australian to pressurise that forehand corner because Gilmour is

:41:37.:41:38.

so strong when it comes to the overhead action on the backhand

:41:39.:41:44.

side. We have seen that already on a few occasions. Beautiful movement

:41:45.:41:55.

back there. By the time she has landed, her body weight is coming

:41:56.:42:03.

forward. Such a good smash. She knew that the only possible reply was

:42:04.:42:14.

straight and back to the net. That is the first body smash we have seen

:42:15.:42:16.

so far in this final. Something different today from

:42:17.:42:48.

yesterday with Gilmour, I thought Gilmour had the courage to play a

:42:49.:42:52.

net shot off her opponent's net short, and so far today we have seen

:42:53.:42:58.

nothing but the lifts. Yes, but I think it comes from the fact that

:42:59.:43:01.

Michelle Li is standing much far forward. She is ready to cover that

:43:02.:43:06.

one. I think Gilmour is very much aware of that. Nice click again from

:43:07.:43:13.

Michelle Li. Here it comes, yes, that is good play, excellent play.

:43:14.:43:17.

Once again you see that pressure down the forehand side of Gilmour.

:43:18.:43:23.

She has two step a small step to the right and ordered to cover that and

:43:24.:43:26.

then obviously have to watch out for the reverse one as well. So not an

:43:27.:43:29.

easy task. Now that is the one I was talking

:43:30.:43:55.

about. Yes, it was. That set it up nicely. Exactly, that was good play.

:43:56.:44:01.

But the reason why it worked was because it was played with

:44:02.:44:03.

But the reason why it worked was delayed, with a disguise.

:44:04.:44:05.

But the reason why it worked was very, very difficult shot to play.

:44:06.:44:32.

To dwell on the backhand offence, didn't she? Yes, Michelle is

:44:33.:44:55.

questioning that call but there is no way she would get an overruling

:44:56.:45:00.

on that one by the umpire. Sitting too far away from it.

:45:01.:45:20.

backhand smash, right down the line. I have never seen that before.

:45:21.:45:25.

Technically, it is one of the most difficult shots. I have never seen

:45:26.:45:26.

her do that. Brilliant. Oh, dear. The service has gone long.

:45:27.:46:08.

That is a gifted point, to Michelle Li.

:46:09.:46:34.

After just 18 minutes, Michelle Li has seven game point opportunities.

:46:35.:46:53.

Down the back line. -- it found the backline.

:46:54.:47:26.

out the opening game for Michelle Li. 21-14, confirms the umpire. It

:47:27.:47:38.

is going to be an uphill battle from here the Kirsty Gilmour. -- for

:47:39.:47:41.

Kirsty Gilmour. She talked about -- we talked about

:47:42.:47:56.

this. Attack beforehand, low down the line. -- attack the forehand.

:47:57.:48:09.

I am attacking her. Pay more attention to the shots down. She is

:48:10.:48:29.

controlling that. She gets more chances. If you close that, and the

:48:30.:48:36.

lift from the net, not the high one, you get that, but the quicker one,

:48:37.:48:41.

you should intercept. Play it high, give yourself some time.

:48:42.:48:52.

So, the advice from the Scottish coach is to get low. He wants her to

:48:53.:49:05.

try to leap up and intercept the pushes from Michelle Li, pushes from

:49:06.:49:09.

the net. So, not the scoreline the home fans

:49:10.:49:21.

would have wanted in the opening game, Michelle Li winning it 21-14.

:49:22.:49:46.

The entire Scottish badminton team are down here in support.

:49:47.:50:08.

More attacking play for Michelle Li. Did you get what the Canadian

:50:09.:50:15.

coaches were saying? I think it was a good advice, saying the same as

:50:16.:50:19.

me, which is why I think it is good. He was saying, attack the forehand,

:50:20.:50:27.

down the line. Very good options are arising from that.

:50:28.:50:36.

That is a perfect clear. Not that Gilmour agrees. There is no

:50:37.:50:47.

challenge system in badminton. The umpire can only overrule, if they

:50:48.:50:50.

see that a clear error has been made. Well, that looks in, to me.

:50:51.:51:03.

Well, this is very, very concerning times for the home fans, at the

:51:04.:51:12.

start of this second game, absolutely crucial for Gilmour. The

:51:13.:51:16.

atmosphere is so tense, you could hear a pin drop. We have not had

:51:17.:51:22.

that before and we have been here for ten days. It is complete

:51:23.:51:23.

silence. so far. Oh, that is incredible.

:51:24.:52:12.

Well, Michelle Li's net play has been now I am perfect, so far.

:52:13.:52:18.

Well, Michelle Li's net play has been now I am perfect, so -- nigh on

:52:19.:52:21.

perfect. But look at the difference from where she is taking the

:52:22.:52:25.

shuttle, our pie, in comparison to wear Gilmour is taking it, download.

:52:26.:52:30.

It was the first drop shot that did it. This is the winner but it was

:52:31.:52:34.

the first one, the small disguise and the little delay, which really

:52:35.:52:37.

tricked Gilmour a little bit and she got into the nets late. -- into the

:52:38.:52:44.

net. She is quick coming forward, isn't

:52:45.:53:05.

she, the Canadian? She knows that is the only answer. Gilmour really has

:53:06.:53:11.

two step a foot or two to the right, to counterattack. She has got to go

:53:12.:53:17.

crosscourt on it. She can't just wait like she normally does and

:53:18.:53:20.

block it straight. She knows Michelle Li is coming in on it.

:53:21.:53:46.

Well, Gilmour has just simply got to break this run of points.

:53:47.:54:12.

That is wide. I think she was contemplating leaving the other one,

:54:13.:54:19.

to leave that shot but she chose to play it. But she played it too wide.

:54:20.:54:25.

I think she contemplated it. I think you are right. Normally, she reaches

:54:26.:54:28.

up and takes it early. Exactly. Well, yes, she raises her arm to

:54:29.:54:52.

celebrate the first point that she has one in the second game. -- the

:54:53.:54:57.

first point she has one. Della macro that is not a good sign. Reverting

:54:58.:54:59.

to the backhand serve. Vary it is a game, -- there it is

:55:00.:55:34.

again, a smashed down the Gilmour forehand side. Yes, she is playing

:55:35.:55:40.

that crosscourt clear with a backhand, one of her favourite

:55:41.:55:45.

shots, one of her basic shots. Again, she must try to avoid

:55:46.:55:50.

Michelle Li being able to attack the forehand side. She has got to go

:55:51.:55:52.

straight on it. CHEERING

:55:53.:56:04.

The attacking play that you suggested was her only answer.

:56:05.:56:10.

Look at that jump in the air. And the backhand kill, well, keeping it

:56:11.:56:20.

straight, which is good because the natural shot would have been to play

:56:21.:56:22.

on the backhand crosscourt. CHEERING

:56:23.:57:13.

Well, that is one of the few net exchanges that Gilmour has one. Yes,

:57:14.:57:21.

but look at the follow-up. She is adding on a little more pressure on

:57:22.:57:24.

Michelle Li, when she is playing that shot. She is ready, which means

:57:25.:57:29.

Michelle can see it and she wants to play desperately tight. Smash, down

:57:30.:57:35.

the forehand side, yet again. MISHAL HUSAIN: We are pausing live

:57:36.:58:18.

coverage of this match on BBC1, the final of the women's singles in the

:58:19.:58:21.

badminton because the news is coming up on BBC1 in a moment. You can

:58:22.:58:25.

switch to BBC Three to continue watching live coverage of Kirsty

:58:26.:58:29.

Gilmour of Scotland against Canada's Michelle Li at the Emirates

:58:30.:58:34.

Arena. There are still medals to be won in the very last hours of the

:58:35.:58:39.

glass games. From me, for the last time, goodbye. Jason will be here

:58:40.:58:45.

after the news with the men's red race. -- Road race.

:58:46.:58:47.

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