Wales had three Olympic gold medallists in cyclists Cooke and Geraint Thomas, plus rower Tom James.

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Cavendish and Britons Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins finished over five minutes behind Goss.

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In a bumper year of accolades, Wales had three Olympic gold medallists in cyclists Nicole Cooke and Geraint Thomas, plus rower Tom James.

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Small consolation came in the form of Pinotti's commanding final day victory, finishing 39 seconds clear of Britain's Geraint Thomas (Sky) with Jesse Sergent of New Zealand third.

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British hopes rest with Steve Cummings, second in the Tours of Britain and of Denmark, and David Millar, with back up coming from Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard and Chris Froome.

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Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man and Welsh rider Geraint Thomas both made waves in this year's Tour de France and will be looking to cap excellent seasons with the Commonwealth title.

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Wiggins, who won individual pursuit gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics then added gold in individual and team pursuits in Beijing four years later, joins Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Andy Tennant for the five-man, four kilometre team pursuit.

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Geraint Price-Thomas, chairman of Gwent Police Authority, also expressed concern that there was "a political drive" to push through the changes quickly, which he said was causing "tremendous difficulty".

BBC: Picture of police officers