Rider News: Dowsett & Murray’s Silver in Madison Champs

British Time Trial Champion comes tantalisingly close to adding the National Madison championship to his palmares

Gordon Wiseman writes … Already a senior National champion against the clock, the Cock Clarks pro bike rider Alex Dowsett (Team Sky) came tantalisingly close to adding the National Madison championship to his palmares on Saturday at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.

Teamed up with Tom Murray (IG Markets/Sigma Sport) – the pairing came home in the bronze medal position in the 2011 championship race – Dowsett and Murray faced a number of British Academy pairings who were determined to make sure that one of ‘their’ teams won this National title.

The 50km race, 200 laps of the track use for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 1996/2008 World Track Championships, was run off at a fast and furious pace but for Dowsett it simply wasn’t hard enough.  “I really could have done with the race being run off at a quicker pace.  The home riders would attack and then ease up.  If we’d kept going at the attack pace them we’d have done better”.

The race featured sprints every 20 laps but Dowsett and Murray missed out on a point score in the opening sprint.  “Someone missed their hand-sling in front of me just as the sprint started” explained Murray “so we missed out on that one”. The pairing picked up second place in the following sprint but then Dowsett won the third and moved them into second place overall.

Tom Murray

“We could have pulled them back but others just sat on our wheels and didn’t help our chase” he shrugged after the race. A bit more track time and we’d have been there” said Dowsett.  “Perhaps next year we can finish one place higher!”

1. Mark Christian/Simon Yates (GB Academy) 31 pts

2. Alex Dowsett (Sky)/Tom Murray IG-Sigma Sport 23pts
3. George Atkins/Owain Doull  (GB Academy) 9pts

@ 2 laps
4. Adam Duggleby (Sportscover Altura)/Alistair Rutherford (Vanilla Bikes) 14pts
5. Joe Kelly/Jon Mould  (GB Academy)  14pts
6. Tom Moses and Alistair Slater (GB Academy) 12 pts

@ 5 laps
7. Doug Dewey (Terra)/David Sinclair (GWR) 4pts

DNF
8. Tom Arnstein and Mark Stewart – Equipe Velo Ecosse/Spokes Racing
9. Stephen Bradury and Jack Kirk – AW Cycles/Agiskoviner CT

DNS
10. Ian Cooper and Richard Prince – Planet X – DNS

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