Cyclist Ethan Vernon capped an excellent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday (1 August) as he picked up a bronze medal in the Men’s 10k Scratch race, adding it to a gold medal already won as part of Team England’s Team Pursuit triumph.
The Bedfordian finished behind Australian, Thomas Cornish who claimed silver, while 19-year old English major championship debutant, Henry Hobbs picked up a second gold medal to cap a special Games of his own.
Vernon, 25, was part of the Team Pursuit quartet that gained a modicum of revenge on a dominant Australian team on Friday (31 July), picking up a first ever Commonwealth gold at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Read: Bedford’s Ethan Vernon helps Team England win Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow
And he added to an already burgeoning haul of Commonwealth medals with an additional bronze in the endurance 10k Scratch Race; one of the final events in the velodrome as the Games came to an official end on Sunday.
Vernon also competed in the individual pursuit, but failed to progress to a medal race as he finished sixth in qualifying.
Endurance the key
While Friday’s action was all about the sprint, Saturday’s action required stamina in abundance.
The Team Pursuit events take place over 4km, but the self-described 10k scratch race requires a more patient approach, and Vernon used all of his road racing experience to claim bronze in a tight final.
Qualifying for the showpiece was almost a foregone conclusion, with just four riders out of 27 entrants failing to qualify across two heats, although Vernon made his place a certainty with a third place finish in the second heat on Saturday morning.
Only 14 of the 23 finalists finished the final which began at 6.20pm, and there were more English medals claimed as Hobbs claimed a second gold of a fantastic individual games, while Vernon kept the Isle of Man’s, Matthew Bostock at bay to claim bronze.
It was one of 36 bronze medals for England across the Games, in addition to 29 gold and 45 silver, but the medal table was dominated by the Australians who claimed a grand total of 70 golds across the 12 days of competition.
For Vernon, attention may now turn back to the road racing scene as the Vuelta a España begins on 8 September, and he’ll be hoping to better a second place finish that he gained in the first stage of last season’s event.
Ethan has already tasted success on the roads of Spain this season, claiming a stage victory at the Volta a Catalunya in March.
