General secretary of the European Cycling Union, Enrico Della Casa, has praised the facilities for and organisation of the cycling events at the European Games in Baku.

The mountain bike medals were handed out on the first full day of competition at the inaugural Games, with the road races and BMX events still to come.

The Italian told reporters: "The organisers have built a very nice BMX track too, an Olympic standard track at the Velopark, and we are expecting great athletes there.

"Mountain biking was very well organised. It's not easy to organise a race. It's very difficult to build an attractive and selective course and they have done that very well. It is very difficult to organise a road race in the centre of a town like Baku but, in fact, they have done it very well.

"An Olympic standard BMX track has been built. They have built 5m ramps for the kids. The legacy of the Games is very important. The Azerbaijan Cycling Federation will organise training camps for the kids and they can use the little ramp. It was really clever to build such a venue. The level of the organisation is of a very high standard."

Swiss cyclist Jolanda Neff won gold in the women's mountain bike race, becoming the first ever European Games champion.