THEY said it would be a war of attrition on a tough Glasgow course and that description was not far wrong as howling winds and torrential rain battered the men's road race at the Commonwealth Games.

It was a thrilling spectacle from the start as the Isle of Man's Peter Kennaugh went on a solo attack on the first lap and maintained his Herculean effort for 116 kilometres - or 72 miles in old money - all the while coaxed and cajoled by his compatriot Mark Cavendish in the Manx team car.

The inclement weather added to the unfolding drama as at one stage Kennaugh was almost taken out by an errant turquoise brolly which flew across his path on University Avenue. He progressed through the soggy, rain-soaked streets with juggernaut-like ambition though, and it was not a race for those without staunch courage with the road surfaces as treacherous and slick as if they had been greased with butter.

The Manx rider looked sublime in the rain, but would later admit his heroic endeavours were more through accident than design. Caught by Geraint Thomas of Wales, New Zealand's Jack Bauer and Scott Thwaites from England with 49km (30 miles) to go, Kennaugh managed to hang on for another third of a lap before being dropped soon after the quartet climbed the formidable Montrose Street.

Bauer, Thomas and Thwaites powered on without him and as the laps ticked down they steadily built their lead. The decisive move came from Thomas as he attacked on St Vincent Street during the final lap to build a 10-second gap over the two chasers, Bauer and Thwaites.

With legs going like pistons, Thomas ascended Great George Street with gusto, by which point his lead had grown to 25 seconds. By the time he reached Park Circus there was almost 50 seconds separating him from the pursuing duo.

There came a heart-stopping moment with 6km (3.7 miles) to go when Thomas suffered a front puncture as he prepared to descend the slippery cobbles on to Woodlands Road. It almost spelled catastrophe but, after what felt like an agonisingly slow wheel change, the Welshman maintained a 20-second lead.

From there it was a case of a fearless ride to the finish for Thomas to claim the title of Commonwealth Games men's road race champion, leaving Bauer and Thwaites, 1:21 behind, to battle it out for silver and bronze respectively.

Testament to the gruelling conditions, there were only 12 finishers from 139 riders, among them Scotland's David Millar who came home in 11th, 10:21 after the winner. They were a dirty dozen in many senses of the description, their legs and kit caked in mud and with blackened faces like coal miners.

Afterwards gold medallist Thomas said he "felt terrible from the start" in the "grim" conditions before turning around his fortunes out on the course.

"I wanted to catch them by surprise because those two are fast guys," he said. "I don't have any acceleration at the moment, I'm just a massive diesel engine, so I needed to go early and get a gap. Once you get a gap on those two, I knew they would start thinking about silver and bronze. I thought 'hit them early, commit' and luckily I had the legs to take me to the line."

Thomas, who took a bronze in the men's time trial last Thursday, shook his head when asked how it felt as he suffered what could have been that game-changing puncture in the closing stages.

"When I felt that front wheel going down words can't describe what was going through my head," he said. "I was swearing and thinking: 'What have I got to do?' Fortunately, I had a decent enough gap at the time but it felt like an eternity, that wheel change. I was able to press on and it was an amazing feeling to come down that home straight with this Welsh jersey on and win."

Through chattering teeth and lips blue with cold, the bold Kennaugh recalled his attack later described by Thomas - a team-mate of his at Team Sky - as "a bit of a suicide move in the end".

"I just gave it a little dig, not really a full-on attack on the first lap," said Kennaugh. "I thought someone like G [Thomas] or maybe one of the Aussies or Kiwis would come with me but it didn't happen. I'm not stupid, I knew I was going to get caught at some point but I didn't think I would stay out there as long as I did."

In the women's race England's Lizzie Armitstead took gold with her compatriot Emma Pooley claiming the silver and Ashleigh Pasio from South Africa bronze.

There was a huge release of emotion from Pooley, sobbing her heart out as she crossed the line. The 32-year-old former world time trial champion and Olympic silver medallist has announced she will retire after the Games. She leaves Glasgow with two silvers from the time trial and road race.

"Getting a medal is a nice way to finish," she said. "I expected to be worked into the dust and finish last or something. It is pretty special."