THERE was a cycling one-two for England at the Commonwealth Games as Malvern's Evie Richards won silver and Annie Last gold in the women's mountain bike cross-country race in Australia.

The England duo dominated the race, pulling clear on the first of six laps around the Nerang forest.

They built a comfortable advantage as Last won by 48 seconds from Richards with Canada's Haley Smith a further 96 seconds back to take bronze.

Canadian Emily Batty, who took silver four years ago in Glasgow and was among the pre-race favourites, had to settle for fourth place ahead of Scotland's Isla Short.

Last and Richards made their intentions clear from the start, pulling out a small gap at the top of the first climb.

Former The Chase School pupil Richards' result was every bit as impressive as Last's as the 21-year-old still rides in the under 23 category in the World Cup Series.

"I knew I needed to get in front to start with and then hang in there as long as I could," she said. "It played out well and I'm so pleased I hung on to the end.

"I've always dreamed of getting a medal in the Commonwealth Games since I was a child. I really wanted a medal so bad but I didn't actually think it was realistic.

"I was really worried I wouldn't even come away with a top 10 because it was such a good field. To get a medal I'm so happy, so chuffed.

“I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint finish or anything so I knew I needed to maintain that gap and you can see that with the placings further down in the race.

"I just wanted to nail that gap and ride my own race really."