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That riders of the calibre of Sam Harrison and Jon Mould are willing to take time out of their GB academy duties to attend the Welsh National Madison Championship says much about the esteem in which the event is held – although the fact that it’s a week before the British National Madison Championships probably helps!

There were few who didn’t have the 100% ME pair down as hot favourites for the event and they kicked off the evening with a win in the Madison Devil, beating Stephen Bradbury of AW Cycles and Jess Wieckowski of Nemesis GB in the final sprint. Before the main race, the large crowd was treated to two shorter races.  The 40 lap C race for Under 14 and Under 16 riders was a close affair, won in the end by Jack Escritt and Ryan Phillips of Wolverhampton Wheelers. They finished a lap ahead of Emily Haycocks of Maindy Flyers and Chloe Evans of Welwyn Wheelers – with Jessie Ansell and James Ireson – also of Wolverhampton Wheelers – in third.

The B race saw Under 16s, Veterans and a few novice Madison riders battle it out over 80 laps – and, again, it was tight at the front. The only crash of the evening, early on in the race, saw Elliot Davis of GB Fire Service finding himself between Max Nethell of Cardiff Ajax and Tristan Robbins of Cardiff Jif, who were about to execute a change. A clash of wheels saw Elliot sliding down the track before picking himself up and rejoining the race.

The race was very much between Nethell and Robbins and Davis and his partner Gerry Bowditch of Abergavenny RC. The youngsters took the final sprint from their veteran rivals, but the vets had a lap in hand and a 5 point buffer. Johannes Roux and Peter Georgie of Giant Hal Films took third.

Despite a few notable absences through illness, it was a strong field that took to the track for the A final – albeit one that, on paper, had a wide spread of ability. One of the two Under 16 riders competing was Robbins who having taken second in the B race, took to the rail again as a stand in for the A race, alongside Rupert  Denny of Team Nemesis GB).

Half a dozen Juniors as well as a host of 3rd, 2nd and 1st Cat Seniors along with the two Elite Academy riders lined up for the race. You might have expected the field to be blown apart. In practice – although it did string out a bit on occasion, the field stayed together for most of the race. The result, of course, was never in doubt and Mould and Harrison’s superiority was such that they were able to take laps at will – and they did, on no less than five occasions.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Second place went to Under 16 rider Zac May of Cardiff Jiff and James Lowsley-Williams of Agisko Viner – who also managed to lap the field – with third going to Junior Robbie Westwood and Steve Powell, both of Cwmcarn Paragon. It was a good workout for Mould and Harrison ahead of next week’s British Championships and Mould’s forthcoming trip to Beijing for the World Cup – as well as a great evening’s entertainment for the crowd.

C RACE
1 Jack ESCRITT Wolverhampton Wheelers/Ryan PHILLIPS Wolverhampton Wheelers
2 Emily HAYCOCKS Maindy Flyers Youth /Chloe EVANS Welwyn Wheelers
3 Jessie ANSELL Wolverhampton Wheelers/James IRESON Wolverhampton Wheelers

B RACE
1 Gerry BOWDITCH Abergavenny RC/Elliot DAVIS GB Fire Service
2 Max NETHELL Cardiff Ajax/Tristan ROBBINS Cardiff Jif
3 Johannes ROUX Giant Halo Films/Peter GEORGIE Giant Halo Films

A RACE – Welsh Madison Championship
1 Sam HARRISON 100% ME/Jon MOULD 100% ME
2 James LOWSLEY- WILLIAMS Agisko Viner/Zac MAY Cardiff Jif
3 Robbie WESTWOOD Cwmcarn Paragon/Steve POWELL Cwmcarn Paragon
4 Stephen BRADBURY awcycles.co.uk/Jess WIECKOWSKI Team Nemesis GB
5 Jon CANNINGS Team Wiggle/Ben SIMMONS Team Wiggle
6 Ian COOPER Planet X/Richard PRINCE Planet X