FRAZER Clacherty arrived in the Gold Coast targeting a top-five finish in the cross-country mountain biking and he did just that in Nerang.

The 20-year-old from Danby, near Whitby, North Yorkshire, found himself in a high-class field that featured New Zealand gold and silver medallists from Glasgow, Anton Cooper and Sam Gaze.

They finished on the top two spots on the podium once again, with Gaze this time victorious in dramatic fashion as he overcame a puncture on the final lap to reel in Cooper for gold.

Meanwhile Clacherty found himself a little caught up at the start, and was delighted to come through in fifth place at the end of the seven-lap race.

He said: “I’m pleased with that. My aim was top five and finished fifth so I’m pretty happy.

“I got caught behind someone at the start and those guys up in front went so I had to race my own race. I rode in fifth so I’m pretty pleased.

“It was a tough course, it’s a lot tougher racing it than in practice. Those climbs, lap after lap, the steep bumps take it out of you. One more lap and I would have been finished, I think.

“It’s been good over here. It’s been weird because it’s been such a long build-up to the race and I’ve not had many races in between. So I was pretty nervous on the start just with the pressure as well but once I got going I was good.”

It was a step up in quality for Clacherty, who won his first British senior title last year and has been impressing in the Under-23 World Cup.

And he admitted the chance to race alongside the likes of Gaze could only help him in the future.

He added: “I think it’s just a great experience, it’s such a different race to any World Cup race because the field is so small. It’s got a bit of a weird feel to it. Normally you’d get gridded further back and you never really see guys like Sam, so to start with the top guys is quite an experience.

“I’ve got the next two World Cups in three or four weeks’ time so it’s straight back into training.”

Meanwhile David Bolt was part of the England men’s fours that will go for bronze in Friday’s lawn bowls against Wales.

Bolt, alongside Louis Ridout, Jamie Chestney and Sam Tolchard, helped England to victory over New Zealand in the quarter-finals, but they could not repeat the trick against Scotland in the semi-finals.

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