The cruel hand of fate ended Caroline Alexander’s medal hopes at the Commonwealth Games in the most frustrating way, as the aptly-named ‘Snakebite Alley’ emptied her back tyre of air and filled her eyes with tears. With a one-minute lead over the chasing Canadian duo of Chrissy Redden and Marie-Helene Premont approaching the end of the first lap, Alexander looked unstoppable. She steadily built up her lead over the tough climbs, but, unusually, she also attacked on the descents – not normally her strong point – taking a ragged approach that threw caution to the wind.

On the final descent of the first lap, down the cobbled steps of Snakebite Alley, the course bit back and she suffered a rear puncture to her tubeless system. Whether she tried and failed to fix the problem, or if she had chosen to ride without an antidote to snakebites, we do not know. What we do know is, that she approached the finish, eyes blurry with tears, wrestling the back end of the bike as it gave in to the camber of the circuit. Within sight of the line, having been caught and passed by the Canadians, she pulled out. Leaning the bike against the railings, she bowed her head over the top tube and let the frustration stream down her face.

Alexander’s misfortune literally offered Redden a golden opportunity, and the Canadian didn’t need to be asked twice. Her companion throughout the early stages had been Teammate, Marie-Helene Premont, but as the race wore on she fell prey to the more experienced Antipodeans – New Zealand’s Susy Pryde and Australia’s Mary Grigson.

After 90 minutes of racing, the 36-year old Canadian crossed the line to claim the Gold. Pryde judged her ascent from third almost to perfection, coming within 16-seconds of Redden. After a mediocre start, Grigson also took advantage of Alexander’s demise, emerging from the pack to take the Bronze, less than a minute behind Redden.

Canada, through Premont and Kiara Bisaro, took fourth and fifth, while Sue Thomas was the highest-placed Briton in eighth. Both Thomas, and compatriot Jenny Copnall, also punctured during the race.

What’s worse is, we all but predicted the whole scenario in our race preview. Our exact words were; “The tough course at Rivington should suit the climbing prowess of Alexander, but the final rocky descent could prove her downfall should she puncture”. Now, that’s scary.

Commonwealth Games Cross-Country, Women:

1. Chrissy Redden (Can)
2. Susy Pryde (NZL)
3. Mary Grigson (Aus)
4. Marie-Helene Premont (Can)
5. Kiara Bisaro (Can)
6. Anna Baylis (Aus)
7. Frankie Dellys (Aus)
8. Sue Thomas (Eng)
9. Penny Edwards (Wal)
10. Victoria Wilkinson (Eng)
11. Jacqui Fletcher (IOM)
12. Jenny Copnall (Eng)