A well-timed move to the front for the last sprint of the 40km points race heat sent track cyclist Conor White through to this afternoon’s final at the Commonweath Games.

White won the sprint to collect double points to qualify for the final. He was languishing in eleventh position after seven sprints in the 80-lap, 20km race at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, and faced elimination as one of the last three of the 12 riders in heat two.

But with four laps remaining he opened a gap between himself and the rest of the field ahead of the last of the eight sprints. He maintained pole position through the sprint, scoring ten points to add to the single one he collected in the second sprint of the heat.

That lifted him into eighth place and a slot in the final this afternoon (12.39pm Bermuda time).

“I knew I only had one point, and I had to get those points to go through,” said White. “I figured the people that have enough points to qualify probably wouldn't chase me. So I just said, ‘I'll just go and see what happens,’ and luckily I stayed alive.”

It was an all-out effort.

“I mean, I was turning squares at the end there, but it worked out.”

The final is over the full 40km distance, twice as long as the heat and featuring 18 riders.