• Kiwi Gold Medal Rower Bond Takes Commonwealth Games Cycling Bronze

    A code hopper who gives true meaning to the term, New Zealander Hamish Bond traded his paddle for pedals and managed to come away with a bronze medal in the men’s cycling time trial at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

    The event was staged at Currumbin.

    Bond has two Olympic gold medals in rowing to his credit. Not surpirsinlgy, he said that cycling was much more difficult than rowing.

    Simply translated, a bicycle seat is far less comfortable.

    Bond, Hamish Bond, had a big lead in the race at one point. For those who do not follow cycling closely, riders in a time trial use a staggered start, so it is rider against the course. The time trial is often called The Race of Truth, because there is no riding in a pack or overtaking involved.

    Bond said as much, “I thought it (cycling) would be easier than rowing, but it’s so much harder.In terms of keeping things all running sweetly, there’s so many things that can go wrong on a bike.”

    He was in the first half of the field and he covered the 38.5km course in 48 minutes and 45.45 seconds, leaving him to watch to learn what the riders who started after him could do.

    Australian Cameron Meyer, starting third-last, then covered the distance in over half a minute less than Bond, more or less the equivalent of Winx running away from the field by seven or eight lengths.

    The silver was snatched away from Bond by England’s Harry Tanfield, who edged Bond by 2.15 seconds, which had to be the harder outcome to endure for Bond.

    Bond should be commended for his attempt. This was not an instance of someone hopping from rugby league to union; this was more along the lines of hitching Winx to a sulky and expecting her to dominate the trots the same way she does the gallops.

    Bond summed it up thusly; I’m pleased with the decision to give this a go – life’s about challenges. You don’t truly know what you’re made of until you put yourself under tests like that, and I seem to have a habit of picking some pretty big ones to chew up.”