Howard and De Ketele win Australian Madison Championship

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A near sell-out crowd flocked into the Darebin International Sports Centre in Melbourne tonight to watch an entertaining program of high class track cycling, highlighted by the 2013 Cycling Australia Madison National Championship.

The 50km (200 lap) Madison National Championship was taken out in convincing fashion by Victoria's former world champion Leigh Howard and Belgium's reigning Madison world champion, Kenny De Ketele.

Second place went to the South Australian duo of George Tansley and Miles Scotson, with third place going to German combination of Marcel Barth and Andreas Muller. The Australian Madison title was presented to the first full Australian team across the line - Tansley and Scotson.

The first half of the event was dominated by an early attack by Tansley and Scotson and as the South Australian duo wasn't considered one of the pre-race favourites for the event, their early attack was largely ignored by many teams. As a result they achieved a lap on the field within the first 35 laps of the 200 lap event.

Sensing the urgency of regaining the lap, Howard and De Ketele launched a series of attacks at the mid-way point of the race which broke the field apart, and with 102 laps to go they drew level with Tansley and Scotson on laps, and held a small lead on points.

From this point of the race onwards, De Ketele and Howard continued to apply pressure and drew away on points from the South Australian duo. However, Tansley and Scotson rode exceptionally well to maintain their lap advantage on the rest of the field, and were rewarded with second place in the event, and their first Australian titles.

Howard and De Ketele are no strangers to international success but were still very pleased with the racing and their performances.

"It was nice to be back on the boards, it's good for the legs, and good for the road form," said Howard.

Kenny De Ketele was similarly pleased, "I'm quite good at Melbourne tracks," he said refering to his 2012 Madison World Championship title in Melbourne.

"It was good fun out there. Leigh rode very well, and we teamed well together," he added. It was a particularly impressive effort from Howard and De Ketele, especially considering that they had never even practised together before.

The winners of the Australian title - George Tansley and Miles Scotson were nothing short of ecstatic with their performance. It was the first time either of them had been presented with the coveted Australian Champion's jersey.

"This is a dream come true. It certainly hasn't sunk in yet, but I'm looking forward to when it does," remarked Scotson.

In the demonstration Women's Madison, Tasmania's Amy Cure and West Australia's Isabella King claimed the win ahead of Annette Edmondson and Jessica Mundy, with Georgia Baker and Lauren Perry third.

Other winners on the night included 16 year old Jack Edwards from NSW who took out the 77th Melbourne Cup on Wheels Final over Miles Scotson (SA) and Glenn O'Shea (SA).

The Women's edition of the Melbourne Cup on Wheels saw Annette Edmondson from South Australia victorious over Isabella King (WA) and Fatehah Mustapha (Malaysia).

Results