REIGNING Australian Madison champions Glenn O’Shea and Leigh Howard will pursue a McCaig Airconditioning Bendigo International Madison victory in tomorrow night’s cycling classic.
Eaglehawk-based O’Shea and Geelong’s Howard will take on a crack field in the 200-lap showdown at the Tom Flood Sports Centre.
O’Shea is aiming to join an elite group of hometown winners.
It was a feat achieved by Zak Dempster just two years ago.
Last Saturday night’s victory in Melbourne added to a remarkable run by the young guns, who are chasing a hat-trick of madison wins following this summer’s success at the Revolution carnival in Melbourne.
This year’s build-up is far different to O’Shea’s madison debut three years ago when he was called up just four days before the great race.
‘‘The first time I was just rapt to be racing.’’O’Shea’s performances in the past year have him in the running for The Advertiser Southern Cross TEN Sports Star of the Year to be announced next Saturday night at Silks at the Bendigo Jockey Club.
O’Shea and Howard are well aware of the pre-race hype and expectations.
Although winning a Bendigo International Madison is a goal O’Shea has had since he started racing more than 10 years ago, he knows it will be a tough task.
‘‘The main focus is on training and knowing what we have to do on the track,’’ O’Shea said.
‘‘The Bendigo International Madison will be a far different race.
‘‘This madison is 35 km further, on an outdoor track, and it’s much harder to build up pace on the flatter track.’’ Silver medallists in the madison at year’s junior world titles in Mexico, O’Shea and Howard were in hot form in the senior races at this year’s national titles.
They won gold in the teams pursuit, while O’Shea won the omnium, and Howard the scratch race.
Howard has raced on the unique D-shaped track at the Tom Flood Sports Centre several times before.
His Bendigo Madison debut was a year ago when teamed with Richard England.
‘‘Miles Olman and Nic Sanderson were just too strong last year,’’ Howard said.
The reigning champions are chasing back-to-back wins, a feat not achieved since the first Olympic madison champions, Brett Aitken and Scott McGrory did so in 2001 and ‘02.
A competitive cyclist since he was 11, Howard’s mum, Kim, has played a key role in his career.
O’Shea and Howard were among Australia’s goldrush as last year’s junior world titles.
They won gold in the teams pursuit, and Howard was a bronze medallist in the individual pursuit.
A year earlier and the Geelong flyer won gold in the teams pursuit at the junior worlds in Belgium.
O’Shea’s run in Mexico included gold in the omnium - a five-race series that involves the sprint, time trial, pursuit, scratch race and points score.
It’s the all-round ability of the teenagers that will be difficult for opponents to match, let alone beat, over 200 laps.
‘‘There are a lot of really strong teams in what is a prestigious race,’’ Howard said.
The Jayco-VIS backed team will be aiming to be No. 1 against cyclists from as far afield as Argentina, Holland, Canada, the United States, and from across Australia.
O’Shea said the intensity had lifted in training in the past two weeks for a gruelling and fast-paced contest, not just in the sprints, but on every lap from 8.10 pm at the Tom Flood Sports Centre in Barnard Street.
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