Neil Fachie bows out in Commonwealth Games blaze of glory with helping hand from 'incredible' new pilot

Fachie, at 42, secured an astonishing victory in the Men's Tandem B Sprint final on his final ride, a feat made possible by his trusted pilot, Aaron Pope.

The duo had only started training regularly together earlier this year after Fachie was lured out of retirement to compete on home soil one last time. Though the visually-impaired hero downplayed his chances, their steady progress in qualification hinted that a medal was perhaps within reach after all.

Inside the tension-fuelled Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Fachie and Pope were smelling blood after hitting the deck during the first lap of their third and final race against the Welsh duo of James Ball and Matt Rotherham. It was ruled a short time later that Ball and Rotherham were deemed to be at fault for clipping the Scots' back wheel while commencing a sudden burst of acceleration, and so the race was re-run. Both nations had already won one race apiece to set up the decider. "It poked the beast," Fachie said.

Battered but unbowed and displaying nerves of steel, Fachie and Pope re-emerged on to the track 10 minutes later to take the decisive race by 0.077 seconds in a time of 10.530, with the Aberdonian adding another medal to the best haul of any Scottish athlete.

Reflecting on the crash, Pope noted that it fuelled their determination. "We just got pretty riled and it fired us up," he said. "Neil had a sit down, I had a bit of a walk to calm myself down. We asked each other if we were OK, but even if we weren't, we were probably still going to tell each other we were absolutely fine and that we were ready to go again. Neil might have a different story because I think I landed on him!

Explaining how the incident unfolded, Pope continued: "The Welsh bike was about to come over us. We got out of the saddle and accelerated, and then we were on the floor. It's one of those things. I don't think it necessarily looks that quick, but when you're on the bike you're moving pretty quick. But I think it spurred us on, if anything. It was quite literally a kick up the back side to get us going, and it paid off in the end. It makes us look pretty good too."

Paying a poignant tribute to Fachie as he signed off from his career as a professional athlete for a second time, Pope declared: "As we spent more time together, I got to know Neil and his family. Pretty much his whole family is visually impaired in one way or another. Seeing how they live their lives, and then having them all here watching, makes this about so much more than just winning a medal.”

Quizzed on whether achieving two golds had provided him with an added incentive to target the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Fachie responded emphatically: "No, I can't see it. I love my food too much! I'm in a much better place physically than I thought I would be, and Aaron is incredible - he's a strong rider - but I don't see myself carrying on, no. What a way to bow out. I'm quite happy to say farewell here.

"The adrenaline was immense, the crowd was phenomenal, and I said to Aaron before we lined up that the story was already written, we just had to finish it. And we did. For my very last bike race, that's a dramatic way to finish on. I'll happily tell that story for years to come."

While some Commonwealth Games records are fleeting and barely survive 24 hours, others have stood across generations. At Birmingham 2022, records fell at pace in Track Cycling. The velodrome, with its emphasis on marginal gains in equipment and aerodynamics, often sees record tumble.

Try telling Emma Finucane that her golden week in Glasgow was about to grind to a halt. No chance.

After set a new Games record of 10.322 seconds in an obliteration of the women's individual sprint qualifying and posting a record time of 46.760 in the team sprint, the 23-year-old's dominance continued in the Women's 1,000m time trail final - an event making it's Games debut - in another record-breaking time of 1:05.285.

It made her the first Welsh woman to win three gold medals at a single Games, showcasing a ruthless racing mindset that sets her apart. Lauren Bell fared best of the three-strong Scottish contingent in the same race, with Ellie Stone and Madeleine Silcock finishing down the field.

Finucane's triumph was foreshadowed by her compatriots Anna Morris (66 points) and Jessica Roberts (52 points), who basked in a Welsh one-two in the Women's 25km Points Race Final.

"Being part of Team Wales has really shown at these Games," Finucane admitted. "I think we've really embraced being such a small nation. We have so much pride and we've done so, so well. Having Anna and Jess on the podium just minutes before me was iconic."

Elsewhere in the same race, Scottish pair Erin Boothman and Kate Richardson finished sixth and 14th respectively. But there was serious disappointment for Neah Evans, who had spent the last year battling illness to compete. 36 laps into the stamina-sapping hundred, Evans was involved in a three-rider collision and though the experienced 36-year-old eventually managed to re-join the race, she was docked 40 points for losing two laps before deciding to call it a day not long after the halfway stage.

In an incident-packed Men's 10km Scratch Race, Mark Stewart was sixth, Lewis Askey trailed in in 11th spot and Logan Maclean failed to finish.