SIDELINED because of illness last year, Scott McGrory will be back to chase a third victory in the Bendigo International Madison cycling classic on March 12.
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The Sydney Olympics madison gold medallists of 2000, McGrory and Brett Aitken joined forces to win Bendigo's great race in 2001 and '02.
But this time they will be opponents as McGrory teams with Danish champion Jimmy Madsen in the 200-lap showdown.
McGrory and Madsen have teamed in several of the rich six-day races in Europe.
A highlight for them was winning the Ghent six-day race in Belgium in 1999.
Chief executive of the Bendigo International Madison, Rik McCaig said Madsen was a cyclist the race organisers had been chasing for several years.
"Jimmy has agreed to race and this team will be tough to beat," McCaig said.
"He is the complete rider and has the speed and strength to be a formidable opponent in a madison."Madsen has competed at three Olympic Games, and McGrory has competed at two Olympics in a remarkable career spanning 14 years.
On the six-day circuit, Madsen has won seven events, while McGrory has 14 victories.
Both have competed at more than 10 world championships.
The 35th Bendigo International Madison, sponsored by McCaig Airconditiong in association with Daikin, has drawn cyclists from eight countries.
Among the leading contenders will be South Australian champion Brett Aitken.
Injury forced him to miss last year's madison, but Aitken will be back and determined to add a sixth victory to his record.
Aitken's first Bendigo Madison win was back in 1994 with Stuart O'Grady.
Since then he has teamed with Stephen Pate in '97, McGrory in 2001 and '02, and German star Erik Weispfennig in 2004.Previous winners lining up on March 12 will be Weispfennig in the all-German team with Christian Ladermann, and Bendigo's own Tim Decker, a madison champion back in 1996 with Eaglehawk's Chris White.
The field includes Castlemaine's Sean Finning who will race at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Bendigo stars David Pell, Zak Dempster, Jarrod Moroni, and Heathcote's Andrew Mason are in the field.
The internationals include Scotland's Evan Oliphant and James McCallum, New Zealand's Anthony Chapman and Dayle Cheatly, England's Kristian House, Japan's Yoshii Kouji, and Isle of Man's Mark Kelly.
The three-day Bendigo International Madison athletics-cycling carnival begins Friday, March 10, when cyclists contest the RetireInvest criterium.
Major events on the athletics program include the 60th City of Greater Bendigo Thousand (120 m), and the Bendigo Bank Black Opal.
