The Australian made his move early in the race, edging ahead by attacking on a start loop.

He then sought to extend his advantage during the five full laps of a 4.3 kilometre circuit.

Wright entered the final lap with nearly a one minute lead and, despite the gap being reduced in the closing kilometres, the he held on to claim victory.

Cheered on by a home crowd, Wright finished in a winning time of 1 hour 07min 56sec.

"I'm at a loss for words," said Wright.

"Doing it in front of my home crowd is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

"It was a hard race, but it paid off in the end.

"Initially, my plan was to stay in the front group for the start loop and attack before the single track, but I felt really, really good so I went straight away."

Joel Roth, a member of Switzerland’s victorious team relay squad yesterday, earned the silver medal after finishing 35 seconds behind.

The podium was rounded off by Canada’s Holden Jones, who finished a further nine seconds off the pace.

Austria’s Laura Stigger emerged as the winner of the junior girls’ race, which featured the start loop and four laps.

Stigger finished the race in a winning time of 1:03:27.

France’s Loana Lecomte, who rode with Stigger for much of the race, took the silver medal 15 seconds behind. 

The podium was rounded off by Switzerland’s Nadia Grod, who ended 1:41 down on the winner.

Junior races are due continue tomorrow, with the elite male and female cross-country races - the only mountain biking events on the Olympic programme - taking place on Saturday (September 9).

Downhill races for men and women are scheduled to take place on Sunday (September 10).