The cream rose to the top with two outstanding performances from Cycling New Zealand’s successful Commonwealth Games stars to claim the madison titles on the final day of the Aon Cambridge 3-Day cycling competition.
Manawatu’s Campbell Stewart and Southland’s Tom Sexton paired under Southern Spars colours to claim the elite men’s two-rider national madison championship over 30kms at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome.
Fellow Commonwealth Games medallists Bryony Botha (Auckland) and Michaela Drummond (Manawatu) timed their run to perfection as the CottonSox combination bagged the double points final sprint to claim the women’s madison championship over 20kms.
It brought an end to the three-day championship events which was a lead-in for New Zealand track riders who face key world championship and Paris Olympic qualifying track events early in 2023.
The women’s madison was a battle with the Cottonsox pairing and their fellow Cycling New Zealand high performance squad riders Ally Wollaston and Jessie Hodges, in Waikato colours. Halfway through the race the Waikato pair held a two-point advantage over Botha and Drummond, and with 20 laps to go it was level on 24 points each, with sprint points available every 10 laps.
The madison is a two-rider event, with one rider in play at all times, swapping with a hand-sling motion between the two.
With 10 laps to go the Waikato pair had edged to a two-point lead going into the final double-point sprint. Drummond and double Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, Botha got their tactics perfect to squeeze home for the winning sprint to claim the title.
They won on 37 points to 33 for Waikato, with the Park Hotel pairing of Sami Donnelly and Ella Wyllie third on 16.
The men formed into an early showdown between WorldTour riders and track world champions. The Southern Spars combo made a massive move to put a lap on the field at midrace, with the 20 bonus points opening a 17-point lead on Strong and Jackson.
Stewart and Sexton did not take their foot off the throat from that point, extending to a 39 point lead with 30 laps remaining, while Strong and Jackson faced a battle from the Castelli Black pairing of teenagers Edward Pawson and Matt Davis for second.
The points for second were tied with 20 laps to go as Castelli Black had clung to the back of the leaders, but they were pipped by Strong in the final sprint to finish one point back in third after a memorable performance.
Earlier the Auckland Hub pairing of Lucas Bhimy and Magnus Jamieson took out the junior men’s 20km madison with 33 points over the Fruzio Ilabb pairing of Marshall Erwood and Maui Morrison on 29 with Wilson Hannon and Tom Kerr of Southern Junior Development third on 26. Full results: www.cambridge3day.co.nz
Full event wrap on Monday.