Two-time reigning madison world champions Leigh Howard and Cameron Meyer made a triumphant return to the track with a resounding victory in the 2012 Cycling Australia Madison National Championships at Melbourne's DISC Velodrome tonight.

 

The pair last raced on a velodrome in the Netherlands in March this year where they claimed their second consecutive Madison world championship.  However tonight Howard, 22, and Meyer, 23, showed no ill-effects of their extended lay off with a commanding performance throughout the 50-kilometre event. 

The pair finished a lap clear of the field, while the South Australian pairing of Glenn O'Shea, 22, and Alexander Edmondson, 17, finished on 21 points and one lap in arrears ofthe world champions to take the silver medal.  2004 Olympic madison silver medallist Franco Marvulli and partner Marcello Barth claimed the bronze on 20 points.

"Since Leigh and I have donned the rainbow jersey, we haven't lost a Madison winning two world titles and two world cups," said Meyer, who claimed his third consecutive Australian Madison crown after pairing with Jack Bobridge to win in 2010 and O'Shea in 2009. 

"It is always an honour to wear the stripes and we don't get to perform in front of the Australian crowd very often, so we try and put on the best performance we can," he added.

The pace was on right from the start of the 200-lap event, with the pairing of Sean Finning and George Tansley immediately showing their intentions by taking a lap within the first few minutes.

Howard and Meyer drove the pace through the majority of the race with the first major move coming shortly before the half-way point. 

With Marvulli and Barth, O'Shea and Edmondson, plus reigning junior world champions Caleb Ewan and Jackson Law, they took a lap to join Finning and Tansley on the leader's board.

Meyer and Howard continued to be the agressors throughout the remainder of the race, targetting O'Shea's younger opponent in particular, with their decisive move coming with just over 70 laps remaining. 

Despite desperate attempts by O'Shea and Ewan to match it with the world champions, the field was unable to respond to the pair who took the lap and control of the race, with the field left to fight it out for the minor medals.

Inside the final 50 laps, the junior world champion pairing of Ewan and Law were in a strong position to claim a medal, however a mechanical issue with Law's bike forced Ewan to ride solo for an extended period of time and as a result, the pair lost a lap and finished fourth.

For Howard and Meyer who are usually the marked riders, they turned the tables tonight with a calculated tactic towards their main rivals.

"There was a little battle going on between us O'Shea and Edmondson," said Meyer, adding "Unfortunately for Alex he was our target tonight, we kept laying into him a bit and eventually he broke and fortunately for us we took the lap we wanted," Meyer added.

Howard, who will join Meyer with Australia's GreenEDGE team in 2012, echoed his team mate sentiments, praising the seventeen-year-old Edmondson.

"We all know how well Glenn has been going at the world cups and the six-dayers so we knew there was no chance we were going to drop him tonight,' explained Howard who claimed his second Australian crown after pairing with O'Shea to win in 2008.

"We knew the only chance to get a gap was to attack when Edmondson was in the race, but having said that Alex rode an unbelievable race for someone that young, so hat's off to both of them.

"We haven't lost a madison in almost three years now, so I guess we are a good combination," Howard explained. "But of course, I am sure there is going to be a time where we make a mistake, where we are targetted and we don't win," he said.

O'Shea, is in his first full year back on the bike after two years racked by illness including bouts of chicken pox and glandular fever, was crowned Australian omnium champion less than twenty four hours earlier.  Last month he teamed with Edmondson to win gold at the second leg of the 2011/12 UCI World Cup Series in Astana.  

After the race, Edmondson was unfazed by the attentions of the world champion pairing.

"It's bike racing and we are not there to make friends on the track and they were the better riders today, but I would like to thank my partner Glenn O'Shea, I couldn't ask for a better partner," said Edmondson. 

In other events during the night's racing, O'Shea won the prestigious Melbourne Cup on Wheels handicap race riding off scratch, while Isabella King claimed the women's handicap. 

In the Victorian keirin championships, Jaron Gardiner claimed the men's event and Thomas Clarke the junior men's 19 title. Both women's championships will head north of the border after Queensland's Emily Rosemond snatched the senior title and Queensland's Taylah Jennings overcame a 40m deficit inside the final lap to win the junior 19 event.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Monday that a verdict is expected in early 2012 after a four-day hearing into the Spanish rider's case next week.

Contador is due to appear at the highest court in world sports in Lausanne, Switzerland, starting next Monday to present his defense that contaminated beef caused his positive test for clenbuterol.

CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said the three-man appeal panel likely will need "six to eight weeks" to publish its ruling.

"It is a normal period of time for a case of this complexity," Reeb told The Associated Press by telephone.

Contador tested positive for clenbuterol in the final days of his third Tour victory.

The International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to CAS after the Spanish cycling federation cleared Contador of blame in February.

The World Anti-Doping Code classes clenbuterol, an anabolic agent which can help burn fat and build muscle. as a zero-tolerance substance.

However, athletes can be exonerated if they prove how they consumed it and were not at fault. Contador claims he ate Spanish beef contaminated by the drug.

If found guilty, Contador faces a ban of up to two years and losing his 2010 Tour title and 2011 Giro d'Italia victory.

CAS procedural rules allow its arbitration panels to issue fast-track decisions with detailed reasons to follow later, if all parties agree.

"There is no such request. There is no particular need for speed," Reeb said.

Contador's case has twice been delayed after lawyers for both sides asked the court for more time to prepare. Previously scheduled three-day hearings in June and August were postponed.

Cap Fréhel, France

Tour de France Stage 5: Dangerous Day

Cadel Evans avoided a number of crashes that took down several overall contenders at the Tour de France Wednesday as the BMC Racing Team's leader held onto his second place overall.

Stayed In Front

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard), Bradley Wiggins (Sky Pro Cycling) and Robert Gesink (Rabobank) each crashed, but all were able to get up and continue. Evans finished 11th as Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) won the uphill bunch sprint finish on the 164.5-kilometer stage. "It was really windy, with narrow, winding roads," Evans said. "We worked hard to stay in front all day. I just kept hearing on the radio over and over again, 'crash, crash, crash' and sort of kept going, and then I saw Gesink all covered in dirt. It was a dangerous day."

Good Guidance

Evans remains one second behind yellow jersey wearer Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo) heading into the longest stage (226.5 km) of this year's race. The two-time Tour de France runner-up said he's appreciating the fine teamwork he has received, particularly from Manuel Quinziato and Marcus Burghardt. "They're used to riding the classics and riding in the front all day, and dodging traffic islands is their speciality," Evans said. "I'm very grateful to have them here for that as well as their role in the team."

Cadel Evans of the BMC Racing Team won his second career Tour de France stage Tuesday by narrowly edging three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank Sungard) in a sprint to the top of the the Mûr de Bretagne.

Too Close To Call

"I don't know if I'm the master of the uphill finish, but today it was a difficult one with the wind and everything," Evans said. "It was very close. I didn't know if I had it on the line myself." The victory was Evans's second stage victory this year and the BMC Racing Team's sixth of the season. The 2009 world road champion also won Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico and took the overall title there, as well as the overall crown at the Tour de Romandie. He also has a runner-up finish at the Critérium du Dauphiné to his credit this year. His previous Tour stage win in 2007 came as a result of a disqualification on Stage 13.

Brief Scare

Evans suffered a bit of a scare with 20 kilometers to go in the 172.5 km race when he punctured, then had his path blocked by a camera motorbike that crashed in front of him. But nearly half of the BMC Racing Team quickly returned him to the peloton. "The reaction of the team was wonderful because we directly stopped with four riders," BMC Racing Team Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said. "Most important was that we didn't panic. We were in the middle part of the peloton and there was no reason to take risks. The best was to wait until we made a turn and had a tailwind."

Hincapie's Help

With four kilometers to go, BMC Racing Team road captain George Hincapie, competing in a record-tying 16th Tour de France, ratched up the pace at the front to string out the field as the final two-kilometer climb approached. Evans said he followed the wheel of Phillipe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), winner of Stage 1. "Phil was certainly the guy to watch," Evans said. "It was a particular kind of finish with the wind and so on. I'm really pleasantly surprised." Asked if he can win his first Tour de France after runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2008, Evans said: "I certainly hope so. So far all is going well. I've come close before, so we'll see. We'll keep working on it." Evans remains second overall, one second behind Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo).

If the UCI had a three strike rule, Alberto Contador would be in his final hours as a Tour de France contender…

This time, it wasn’t a positive drug test, or traces of plasticisers in his blood – he was simply riding without lights on his bike. The Spaniard was subsequently pulled over by French Police and a brief argument ensued. Alberto Contador claimed that he did not need lights, as his team car would light the way as he snaked down the Galibier Pass.

 The police officer on the scene suggested that the car would struggle to keep up with Contador as he descended at speeds exceeding 70km/h. It is part of French Traffic Law that all vehicles on the road must have working lights, both front and rear. Including cyclists training for the Tour De France.

The incident brings back memories of the flamboyant Mario Cipollini, pulled over by the same authorities for riding at 90km/h behind his team car, on a motorway. Cipollini claimed it was the only way he could go fast enough to do his sprint training. Cipollini was given 63 Euro fine, and a fantastic publicity boost.

Alberto Contador is in his final phase of training before the 2011 Tour De France, an event which is once again being shadowed by less favourable topics. But as with every other year, the sheer magnitude, and beauty of the event still shines through. It’s assumed that Contador will compete in the event, even though his title may be stripped from him in the coming months (assuming he wins the Grand Tour).

With less than three weeks until the Tour De France rolls out of Passage Du Gois, anticipation is starting to build! It is promised to be another unpredictable race route, with the race starting with a road stage, instead of the usual Prologue. The Tour will cover a distance of 3430km and span for 21 stages.

The  supply of thunder will be courtesy of Mark Cavendish, the Manx Missile. Claimed to be the fasted man in the world, Cavendish hopes to take as many stage wins as possible. Defending champion, Andre Griepel has the same plan, which could make things quite exciting. Even more so, this event will be the first time that Griepel and Cavendish will contest the sprints on opposing teams. Although Cavendish has won 15 stages of the Tour De France, many cycling fans are actually in favour of the underdog Greipel. Either way, it’s set to be an epic battle. Race Director, Mike Turtur feels “It's going to be great to watch Cavendish and Greipel go head-to-head in Adelaide. They are superb sprinters and it will be fascinating to see who will come out on top”.

In the teams competition, Omega Pharma Lotto and HTC Columbia will go head to head, just like their aforementioned key riders. Other ProTour Teams to watch will be the likes of: SAXO Bank, potentially team Sky as well as Team Radioshack – who will be presenting Lance Armstrong for the final time as a professional racing in Australia. Fortunately, the recent doping allegations against Armstrong have quietened down significantly, allowing the Tour Down Under to go ahead untarnished.

For full details on the event, such as course routes, individual rider details and team rosters, go to the official TDU website,  http://www.tourdownunder.com.au – See how many Aussies you can count!

Cyclingtribe will have regular updates on the event, so keep us in your Favourites tab, and we will keep you up to date.