New Zealand dominated the Commonwealth Games men's cross-country mountain biking competition, with Sam Gaze winning his second consecutive gold medal. Ben Oliver took the silver medal, well ahead of bronze medalist Alexander Miller of Namibia.

In 2018, Gaze outscored Anton Cooper in a rugged finish between the two rivals to upset Glasgow 1-2. However, Cooper missed this year's race due to COVID-19, so Oliver was in contention to maintain his top-two finish in the country.

Gaze's victory was also a break from the struggles of the past few years, both on and off the bike. Gaze, who is a member of Alpecin Deceuninck, said the road team helped him get back on track after suffering a head injury and depression in 2019.

"The last four years have been pretty turbulent," Gaze said according to the New Zealand Herald (opens in new tab). 'Looking back, I'm very grateful. It's made me the person I am today, and to come back this year as someone I can be proud of, I think it's very special."

Gaze waited until lap 6 of 8 before powering away on the hilly section to win.

"It's special to race with my teammates in this event, especially Ben. I've known him since he was 14 and he's a great guy."

"Going into this event, I wasn't looking to shake him up right away, I was looking to help each other win our first two medals."

In the women's cross country at Cannock Chase Forest north of Birmingham, England's Evie Richards won gold in a solo effort. Zoe Cuthbert of Australia won silver by 47 seconds, and South Africa's Candice Lill rounded out the podium.

Richards, the 2021 world champion, told the BBC that her season so far had been "a wreck."

"I hurt my back in February and this is the first race I've done without pain or tears. Just to be able to finish the race, I feel like an idiot, but it's a special moment," Richards said.

"I've had everything from COVID to a Brazilian stomach bug, so to be able to put the race together and finish it healthy, without a bad back, it really means a lot to me.

"I knew I wasn't the strongest, but I had to try. Sometimes I play to ease myself mentally, to take some of the pressure off, but of course I always want to win"

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Richards was scheduled to compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in North America, but chose to return home for the Birmingham event.

"It's special to be able to participate in the Commonwealth Games. I was going to compete in the World Cup with my team, but I really wanted to come here. It's been a long time since my family has seen me race, and it's not every day that I become world champion in my home country," Richards said.