Australia’s Grace Brown and Rohan Dennis complete Commonwealth cycling clean sweep

Grace Brown during the women’s cycling individual time trial at the Commonwealth Games in Wolverhampton. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

As Grace Brown was preparing for the first leg of an Australian clean sweep of the Commonwealth Games individual time trials, the task ahead was brought into harsh focus. English rider Hayley Simmonds, a bronze medallist on the Gold Coast four years ago now working as a commentator while injured, articulated perfectly the demands of the event.

“It’s called the race of truth,” Simmonds said on the BBC. “In the end, it’s just you and the pain in your legs and thoughts in your head. You cannot hide behind your teammates. It is literally the strongest rider who will win.”