Geraint Thomas takes Commonwealth bronze after early crash ruins dreams of gold

Geraint Thomas suffered an all too familiar story as an early crash cost him his chance of Commonwealth gold in the men’s time trial.

Barely two minutes into his ride the back wheel got away from the Welshman on a sharp left-hander, and he clipped a barrier.

Thomas remounted but was around 30 seconds down on eventual winner Rohan Dennis at every time check and finished two seconds behind England’s Fred Wright who collected silver.

“The recon I did was in traffic, there were no barriers up or anything,” Thomas said. “It was pretty pointless really, other than knowing where the hills were. I thought it was a sweeping left hander, then the barriers were there and I thought, ‘Oh s***’. It’s never straightforward, is it?

“We’re used to seeing the course exactly how it’s going to be. It’s not as organised as what we’re used to.”

Despite that Thomas – who has seen crashes wreck hopes in the Tour de France and Olympics – said he needed to take the blame given the course was the same for everyone.

“Sometimes it’s just pure bad luck but I’d say today I take it on the chin as my fault,” he said. “I was keen to try to do my best ride. I felt every corner was not full so I don’t have to brake too much, I was wrong with that.

“I knew Rohan was going to be super good. I had to be on the limit but for it to happen so early on is one of those things.”

The way Thomas held the time gaps to Australia’s Dennis suggested the 36-year-old, less than two weeks after finishing third in the Tour de France, had the form to challenge the former time trial world champion, who missed the Tour and had focused on this event.

Wright was among the early runners, effectively spending more than two hours in the hot seat until being shunted aside by Dennis