Australia Day - My first Madison!

26 Jan 2012:  Sunny 24C – brilliant day to kick off Australia Day. A day off work – took the opportunity to get a training ride in with the new SKCC Women’s team in the morning. It was our first training ride as a new team together – got to know some of my new team-mates a little better and even managed to get some efforts in. A quick brekkie and team briefing before I scurried off to the Blackburn track for the Australia Day Madison race.

I wasn’t sure which grade I was in for the earlier support races and ended up missing my start. Got to have a quick spin in D Grade for the Scratch Race, though wasn’t allowed to claim any place. Next up was the Elimination race – I was in C Grade - stayed in a couple of laps before I ended up getting boxed right in and was soon eliminated. Nevertheless, I couldn’t quite focus on those earlier races – it was the afternoon race that I was looking forward to – the Madison!

When Simon first suggested racing with my team-mate Chloe Baggs earlier this month, I was absolutely stoked. I’ve always been inspired by the Manx Missile – and it was at the 2008 World Championships where Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins became world madison champions. I was certainly eager – well, till I rocked up for my first training session the Monday before! It was my first time on an outdoor track, and though the bankings weren’t as steep as the velodrome at DISC, it was a longer track and somewhat tougher riding on the concrete. Came to the Madison slings – and in a bunch of 7 riders x2 – boy, was it scary! Imagine riding in a bunch – I had to focus on the riders in front and their team-mates being slung in, find my partner to sling in, keep my bike from wobbling with one hand on the bar whilst slinging my partner in – a total hand-eye-legs co-ordination extravaganza.  A dozen or so practice slings in – I got the gist – still somewhat nervous – and fast forward back to race day.

Quickcycle Team - All ready with team-mate Chloe before the race (Photo by Tracy Baggs) 

With Chloe and I being the only women who had entered, we were mixed in with the boys in C grade. A few laps behind the motorbike, and as soon as the bike pulled out, the pace was on! 2 of the teams (Trigon and Dever) picked the pace right up from the start which split the bunch apart. A couple of early attacks were brought in up till the first intermediate sprint at Lap 10. Chloe slung me in for the sprint though we just missed out on points coming in 4^th. Nevertheless, having gained some momentum, I put the hammer down and managed to break off from the field immediately after the sprint. With the bunch now totally strung out – we attempted to gain a lap on the field.

Dever and Trigon boys hot on my wheels after attempting  a break  (Photo by James Moffat) 

We managed to hold on for a couple of laps with the Trigon and Dever boys hot on our wheels. Nevertheless, with that headwind up the back straight, Chloe and I were both quickly running out of steam and it wasn’t long before the boys overtook us. With 2 teams in front of us working together, and 3 teams in the bunch behind us together, we were now stuck solo in between the 2 groups – each of us gritting our teeth trying to keep the pace up so as not to be caught. We were a stone’s throw from the Dever boys before we heard the bell for sprint 2. I got a massive sling and scream of support from Chloe – and took off chasing them down. Now or never, I was on fire and came in 3rd  in that sprint. We were now on the points table!  

Team-mate Chloe amongst the bunch (Photo by James Moffat)

Trigon attacked again and we found ourselves stuck in the middle – again. At this stage, we were both in the hurt box just fighting to hang on. Doing double laps was painful – I could feel the pasta I had for lunch coming up my throat – no, no – I’m not chucking this time. Chasing the boys on the 86 inch gear was sure tough – should have put on a slightly bigger gear. Seeing Chloe’s hand on each changeover was like seeing gold – I’d dig in hard each lap or 2 before I was almost out of breath – grab onto Chloe’s hand and with one last effort - sling her right in to take over. It was certainly a race of pure team-work.

Looking for Chloe's hand for the sling (Photo by James Moffat)

We both dug in hard and eventually caught onto the CycleLink boys who were now a lap down. We ended up working together for a while – that slight shelter from the wind was surely welcomed at this stage in the race. We eventually dropped them and were now coming into the pointy end of the race. 10 laps to go – intermediate sprint 3. Again the Trigon and Dever boys took off, and we came in 3^rd – one more point there. Not long to go now.

We were both now counting down the laps to the finish. 10 to go, 6 to go, 2 to go – I screamed at Chloe – last one, last one!! Gave her one final sling with everything I had – and she took off chasing the boys down – finishing 3^rd in the sprint and 3^rd overall!!

In all smiles with our prize for the day

On the podium (Photo by Michael Mac)

Albeit both physically and mentally exhausted, we were both happy with our efforts and were in all smiles stepping onto the podium. First race on an outdoor track – checked. First Madison – checked. A race of pure team-work – it was certainly exciting, thrilling, tough work, and heaps of fun. Thanks to Tracy (Chloe’s mum) for handing out our water bottles that day and the rest of the volunteers at Blackburn Cycling Club for hosting the race. Congrats to Trigon (James M & James T) and Dever (Callum P & Jonathan D) for coming in 1^st and 2^nd respectively. From excitement, to being freaked out, to now gaining a whole new level of confidence in a mere couple of days – certainly looking forward to racing the Madison again! More photos here and a great report by James Moffat here.