Men's cross-country results in full

He pulled clear on the penultimate lap for a comfortable win. Jose Antonio Hermida took silver for Spain, while Holland's Bart Brentjens was third.

Britain's top hope, Liam Killeen, got caught up in a first-corner crash which cost him valuable time.

But he made amends and stormed through the field to earn himself a hard-fought fifth place.

Afterwards Killeen, sporting a ripped jersey, admitted he had endured a crash on his way to a top-five finish.

He said: "I just overcooked it on a really loose bend and went over the bars.

"I was having mental problems then trying to stick in the race I dropped back to 20th and that was tough but then I got it going."

Killeen's team-mate Oli Beckinsale had to make do with 17th place at the finish.

And he already has his sights set on future glory.

"But I really want to push for a medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and, if you just took the guys from Australia and New Zealand, I would have been on the podium," said Beckinsale.