Olympics mountain bike: Julie Bresset wins London 2012 gold

France's Julie Bresset won her country's 10th gold medal of the London 2012 Olympics after sealing victory in the women's mountain biking. 

Bresset cruised to victory with a sensational ride finishing ahead of Sabine Spitz of Germany and Georgia Gould of the United States.

Britain's Annie Last made a brave start, leading for much of the first lap at Hadleigh Farm in Essex, before fading later on and finished eighth.

The men's race will be held on Sunday. 

Julien Absalon will try to win his third straight gold medal in that race but he will have to beat a field that includes Switzerland's Nino Schurter, his biggest rival on the World Cup scene.

Bresset took the lead early in the race, then took advantage of a mistake by defending gold medalist Spitz to build a massive lead and she rolled over the last of six laps all alone.

Last, 21, said she was proud of her performance and vowed to come back better at the Rio Games in 2016.

"I wanted to get a good start to make sure I got a clear run. I did not smash myself and have to pay for it, it is what I wanted to do," Last told BBC Sport.

"Towards the end of the race I started to slip back a bit and I came today wanting to get the best out of myself and that is what I did. There is so much to think about, you see the wheels in front of you and try to race them, but you must focus on yourself.

"Julie Bresset is an amazing rider, but the rest of the field are a lot older than me. I still have a long way to go and I am looking forward to moving upwards in the next few years."

bbc