\n<\/p>\n
There was no communication, no confirmation. But then, the little and large duo reemerged.<\/p>\n
“Adrenaline is a wonderful thing,” a battered, bruised, but buoyant Fachie said, speaking to BBC Sport Scotland about their “little slide”.<\/p>\n
“You don’t really feel a lot of pain at the time, but it created a lot of anger. I think Aaron casually walked me away before I said something I shouldn’t say, but we were so fired up to go and prove a point there.” <\/p>\n
“You can’t really describe it,” Pope agreed. “You’ve got one race to try and win, give him the fairytale ending and live happily ever after. <\/p>\n
“So, you’re on the floor, pretty upset, and then you’ve got all this stuff saying just keep your head up, go have a scrap and have a scrap for your best mate.”<\/p>\n
“I said to Aaron before we went up, ‘the story’s written here, let’s finish it off’ and we were so determined to do that,” Fachie added.<\/p>\n
And do that they did. It was less about tactics and more about tenacity. And there was only one winner there.<\/p>\n
Fachie forced his way to the finish line just before Bell in a neck-and-neck encounter, but his tight grip on the bars was swiftly released, raising them in the air before pounding his chest.<\/p>\n
“There was no way they were getting past,” Fachie said. <\/p>\n
“It was almost like they poked a bear, inspired something in us, and once you get this crowd roaring, you know you’re winning. There’s no way they’re coming back in a million years.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n