January 12/10 12:12 pm - Ontario Madison Championships: Report and Results

Posted by Editoress on 01/12/10
 

A total of 13 teams contested the Ontario Madison Championship at the Forest City Velodrome on Saturday night (January 9th). The race was postponed from December due to boiler problems, but this night the heat was on for both the competitors and race fans.

With so many teams entered, the riders had to be split into “A” & “AA” divisions based on ability. As it turned out, there was a swing team of two first year Junior riders - Kyle Rupay and Justin Zottl - who were asked to move into the Elite division and learn what being on the rivet and racing like Pro's is all about. The kids did a great job of competing and even won a sprint race which was part of the Omnium format for the teams.

In the “AA” division six teams were on the rail to start the evening's Madison event. Team Black of Krister Ovsenek (16 yrs) and Brett Hueston dominated the five races throughout the night and only had to finish the Madison (which they did in second) to come away with the Gold Medal. During the final “AA” Madison, the LCW team of John Hueston and Scott Matthews attacked with eight minutes remaining to separate themselves from the rest of the teams and lap the field to take control of the race. In the Omnium the LCW team captured the Silver medal. The mixed team of Amy Biskaborn & Mike Renneboog (Team FCV) were able to hold on to Bronze Medal.

The Elite race had a wildcard team in the mix: Barry Miller from T-Town wanted to race and fine tune his speed for two Six Day races in Europe next month. He was paired with Kingston area dentist Scott Lundy, who was making his return to the FCV boards after setting up his new dental practice. After a slow start to the night the duo had a great final Madison and captured the over win ... however, medals can only be handed out to Ontario-licensed riders, so they took the glory but had to leave the medals on the table.

The FCV balances the teams at the beginning of the evening's racing to make sure everyone has an opportunity to compete for the win. Early in the program the young team of Junior rider Jason King and Elite racer Vince DeJong had a solid lead on points, with top-three finishes in the TT, Scratch race and Sprints. Unfortunately for them, during the Madison the team missed a couple of exchanges and had to settle for fourth overall and the Bronze Medal. The Garneau Team of Andrew Lattimore and Matteo Dal-cin had a strong performance and were originally scored in Bronze, however, after a review of the final points, it was determined that the Garneau team finished in fifth position overall.

The two teams that kept up with Miller & Lundy all night were the Jetfuel Coffee team of John Carden / Dave Byer and Team D’Ornellas of Garnett Abbey / Ryan Aitcheson. All three of the teams attacked each other during the very spirited 30 minute Madison to close the evening's racing. The three teams stayed on the same lap and were in contention for the extra points on offer for winning the Madison.

In the end Miller and Lundy came across the line just ahead of Team Jetfuel, with Team D’Ornellas finishing third.

A tremendous night of racing with the competitors exhausted and the fans giving the racers a solid round of applause in appreciation for safe, fast entertainment.

Courtesy Rob Good