The Scottish National Madison Championships was the final Scottish National Championships of the 2019 calendar, held at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. The day incorporated  the Festive Flyer and Paracycling Tandem events, so there was plenty of action on track.

The first Championships event track was the Youth A Girls and Boys Madison. The Edinburgh RC duo of Kirsty Johnson and Eilidh Shaw were up against Kiera Chan (East Kilbride Road Club) and Isla McCutcheon (Johnstone Wheelers Cycling Club) in the Girls category. They shared the track with 14 Boys teams over 60 laps, with points up for grabs on six sprints, plus the chance to gain 20 points by gaining a lap on the rest of the field. Four very strong Boys teams made life tough for the others. The first sprint went to Ross Birrell (Edinburgh RC) and Daniel Kain (Squadra Scozzese), with Cameron Brown (Discovery Junior Cycling Club) and Kieran Riley (RST/Cycling Division Racing Team) close behind. Brown and Riley then won the second sprint ahead of Birrell and Kain, and the third place points in both sprints were picked up by the team of Alexander Gibb (Edinburgh RC) and Callum Thornley (Peebles CC).

Before the third sprint, both teams of Birrell and Kain, and Brown and Riley managed to gain a lap. Gibb and Thornley used this to their advantage, however, taking maximum points in the third and fourth sprints. Oliver Kelly (Johnstone Wheelers Cycling Club) and Cormac McConville (East Kilbride Road Club) got themselves on the scoreboard with 3 points in the third sprint, and the Deeside Thistle duo of Noah Fontaine and Calum Smith earned 3 points in the fourth sprint. Before the fifth sprint Gibb and Thornley gained a lap, as did the team of Keir Gaffney (Johnstone Wheelers Cycling Club) and Alexander MacLeod (Deeside Thistle CC).  Birrell and Kain gained a second lap before winning sprints 5 and 6, giving them a total of 65 points and the gold medals. Gibb and Thornley took silver with their lap and points gained in all of the sprints giving them a total of 39 points. Brown and Riley got bronze with 31 points, with Gaffney and MacLeod narrowly missing the podium with 30 points.

In the Girls Category, the team of Johnstone and Shaw won the gold medal, earning a point in sprint 3, and 9^th place overall, finishing on -77 points, with Chan and McCutcheon claiming silver with -160 points.

In the Open Madison, seven teams of two riders battled it out over 120 laps with 12 sprints offering points. The field had talent in depth: one of last year’s champions and the current World Masters Points Race Champion, Martin Lonie (Nuun-Sigma Sport-London RT), was paired with Rab Wardell, Rab taking time off from his BMX coaching to try for a National Madison title. Another of last year’s Open Madison winners, Andy Brown, had teamed up with one of last year’s Junior Men’s Madison champions Matti Dobbins; and the Team GB pairing of Katie Archibald and Neah Evans were also present. Both women had helped Team GB win the gold medal in the Team Pursuit here in November at the UCI Track World Cup; came 4^th in the 2019 Women’s Madison World Championships, a title Archibald won in 2018; and have multiple titles at European and World levels. Certainly, a class act for the men to test themselves against. The Junior men were represented by the pairing of Alexander Ball and Kyle Thomas of Edinburgh RC.

The Bioracer-Moriarty Bikes team of Richard McDonald and Jason Roberts took a turn in the lead, as did Lonie & Wardell, but when the bell came for the first sprint, it was Archibald and Evans taking 5 points and sending out a message that they were here for the win! Great riding by the Juniors Ball and Thomas saw them pick up 3 points in the first sprint, followed by Lonie and Wardell, then Brown and Dobbins. 

In the second sprint Lonie and Wardell took first place taking them to the top of the standings. 3 points went to the pairing of Cameron Oliver (RT23) and Adam Mitchell (Spokes Racing Team), ahead of McDonald and Roberts, and Archibald and Evans. The Team GB duo took themselves back to the top of the standings with maximum points in sprint three, ahead of the Dooleys Cycles pairing of Ben Norris and Aidan Quinn, followed by Lonie and Wardell, and Brown and Dobbins in fourth still trying to find their rhythm.

Brown and Dobbins  claimed the fourth sprint bringing their tally to 7 points, ahead of Archibald and Evans, still leading on 14 points. Lonie & Wardell earned another 2 points to put them on 11 points.

Brown and Dobbins not only managed to find their rhythm but also gained a lap and a precious 20 points. Archibald and Evans were scoring consistently in the sprints keeping their score up. Oliver and Mitchell won sprint six, with Ball and Thomas winning sprint 7. After seven sprints Brown and Dobbins topped the standings on 29 points, Archibald and Evans had 25 points, Lonie and Wardell had 13 points, Oliver and Mitchell had 11 points, and Ball and Thomas had 9 points. Still plenty to fight for.

Archibald and Evans regained the lead by taking sprints 8 and 9. Brown and Dobbins could only manage three points from those two sprints, and it was clear the battle for gold was between these two teams. Bronze was between Lonie and Wardell on 17 points, and Oliver and Mitchell on 14 points.

In the tenth sprint, Brown  scored the full 5 points with Evans taking 3. The Archibald and Evans pairing were now only a point in the lead. Lonie and Wardell gained a useful 2 points to move them 5 points clear of their nearest challengers. It seemed that the final outcome would depend on timing in the sprints.

Then Andy Brown made his move. Within ninety seconds he had taken another lap and another 20 points. The lead was back with Brown and Dobbins, with Archibald and Evans 14 points behind even after winning sprint 11. Oliver and Mitchell grabbed 3 points in the sprint leaving them only 3 points adrift of Lonie and Wardell.

Evans narrowly won the final sprint ahead of Brown and Lonie, giving Lonie and Wardell bronze with 26 points; Archibald and Evans silver with 53 points; and Brown and Dobbins taking the golds with 61 points. Oliver and Mitchel took fourth, and the Junior Men’s Team of Alexander Ball and Kyle Thomas came fifth overall but also the Junior Gold medals.

Thanks to event Organiser Kenny Steele, Chief Commissaire Hugh Sinclair and his team of officials and volunteers for delivering a well-run and exciting day of racing.