There’ll be champagne popped in the Daniel McConnell-Rebecca Henderson household once these Commonwealth Games are done and dusted, but it won’t taste quite as sweet as it might have. The Canberra couple will leave Glasgow with a mountain bike bronze medal each, Henderson’s potentially a career definer but McConnell’s tarnished with disappointment. He was favourite heading into the men’s cross-country race, but had to settle for third behind New Zealand pair Anton Cooper and Samuel Gaze after an enthralling 37km battle. McConnell was the in-form rider going in and spent more time in front than any other competitor, but when Cooper turned on the afterburners in the final 500m, McConnell’s tank was dry. "Obviously I'm happy to walk away with a bronze medal," McConnell said. "It wasn't quite the colour I was after but I was just out-matched today by the Kiwi boys who rode really smart and tactical and I didn't quite have the power to go with them. “I think there’s not really an excuse today. I really tried in the middle part of the race to break it up but the speed of the course, there's a lot of drafting and I couldn't use where I'm strongest on the climbs to get the gap. “I put all my eggs in that basket and it didn’t quite pan out. It was pretty hard. They didn’t really pull much work in the middle of the race and just left it up to me, they played it really well. McConnell and the New Zealanders were part of a quartet of riders that included Canadian Max Plaxton for most of the race. Plaxton was the first to drop off in the final lap before Cooper exploded clear coming into the final straight. While Cooper said he and Gaze were riding their own races, he admitted the pair had contrived a plan to combat MacConnell. “Sam and I had a chat leading in and we wanted to keep the pace high in the first few laps just to get away,” Cooper said. “It’s not a great course for Dan. I don’t think it plays to his strengths." Earlier in the day, McConnell had watched Henderson ride her best race all year in finishing third to Canadian’s Catherine Pendrel and Emily Batty. Pendrel dominated from start to finish but Henderson and Batty, teammates at Trek Factory Racing, dueled throughout before the Canadian was able to pull ever so slightly clear in the final lap. “We were working together [to reel in Pendrel] and sharing the load but then on the last two laps it was each to their own, it was on,” Henderson said. “Emily was able to gap me on one lap and I clawed her back then the second time she really broke me. We know each others strengths and weaknesses. That helps us work together but it also makes it pretty tough. “I’m so excited, it’s my first Commonwealth Games and my first medal, it’s such a privilege to be here and such an amazing experience.”

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