Craig MacLean wins two golds at Glasgow

craig

Wilmslow's Craig MacLean and Neil Fachie won a second gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on Saturday, 26th July, to the delight of those present at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

The Team Scotland duo, who won the tandem kilo on Friday, struck again in front of a proud home crowd as they sealed victory, this time in the tandem sprint.

The pair fell behind in the gold medal ride against Australians Kieran Modra and Jason Niblett but fought back, winning the second heat to make it 1-1.

In the final heat the strength of Maclean and Fachie was on full display as they powered past their antipodean rivals to take their second gold in as many days.

When asked if the second gold meant more, Craig MacLean, 42, said "It was just as hard work but slightly more satisfying because we were on the back foot after that first ride in the final.

"Neil and I both thought that was it really and we didn't think we were going to come back from that."

Fachie, 30, added: "This morning session was such a struggle for us, we were just so fatigued from yesterday and qualifying didn't go that well and I felt awful after it.

"I've no idea where we found what we did at the end but I think it comes down to the crowd, without them we wouldn't have done it."

Racing alongside Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Queally in the team sprint, Craig won silver at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, before becoming world champion in 2002 in the same event.

After multiple world cup and world championship podium appearances, Craig sustained a back injury in 2007 and announced his retirement in 2008. In 2010, he joined the Great Britain Para-Cycling Team and in 2011 piloted Neil Fachie to become world champion in the tandem sprint and the tandem kilometre time trial.

At the 2012 Paralympic Games, Craig paired up with Anthony Kappes, winning the gold medal in the sprint.

In November 2012, Royal Mail painted one of their red post boxes outside of Tesco Express on Alderley Road gold to celebrate his gold medal wins, and that of Victoria Pendleton.

Craig, who has lived in Wilmslow for the past five years, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling.

Quotes courtesy of www.britishcycling.org.uk.

Photo credit: credit: Rebecca Lee, Team Scotland.

Tags:
Craig MacLean, Cycling
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement