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CYCLING: Argentine pair win men’s Madison

Track cyclist Walter Fernando Perez of Argentina celebrates after winning the men’s Madison final with Juan Esteban Curuchet at the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Argentina’s Juan Curuchet and Walter Perez grabbed Olympic gold in the men’s Madison yesterday when all three medals were decided on the last lap’s 10th and final sprint.

Spain finished second to take the silver with Russia winning the bronze.

Britain’s pursuit and team pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins was never in contention with team-mate Mark Cavendish.

Argentina’s pairing were a constant threat for their rivals in the 200-lap, 50km event of two-man teams who trade turns racing, holding hands to slingshot their team-mates ahead when they handoff

Points are given for 10 intermediate sprints and for overall distance completed.

Argentina finished with only eight points, but that was enough to keep Spain, on seven, down in second place.

Russia finished with six as all the other teams, including Britain, finished variously with more points but crucially a lap behind the podium finishers.

Argentina took a full five points for winning the third sprint, and after the fourth sprint they managed to gain a lap on the field.

Spain and Russia then went on to lap the field, allowing them a cushion.

It means Spain’s former seven-time world champion Joan Llaneras, who won the points race, will go home with a silver and a gold. The 39-year-old previously won silver in Athens and gold in Sydney, both from the points race.

Wiggins won his sixth Olympic medal, a gold, from the team pursuit on Monday to equal the all-time number of medals won in track — previously held by American Burton Downing, who won all six of his medals at St Louis in 1904.

Later yesterday Victoria Pendleton of Britain grabbed her first Olympic gold after dominating Anna Meares of Australia over two legs of the women’s sprint final.

Meares picked up the silver with China’s Guo Shuang winning the bronze.

Pendleton’s maiden Olympic crown means she took Britain’s track cycling gold tally to six.

The 27-year-old Englishwoman is also the first British woman to win Olympic gold in track cycling’s blue riband event. It is also Britain’s first women’s track medal since Yvonne McGregor won pursuit bronze in Sydney eight years ago.

Pendleton competed in Athens where she came away with a ninth place in the sprint and a sixth place in the time trial, won by Meares.

Meares’ silver medal is one better than her third place in the sprint in 2004, and is the only medal won by Australia’s track team at the Games. In Athens they topped the table with five gold and nine in total.

Guo meanwhile picked up China’s first track cycling medal of the Games and just the second in Olympic history.

Guo had battled Meares for a place in the final and beat the Australian 2-1. However Guo was disqualified by the race jury for entering Meares’ lane as they rounded the final bend in the decider.

She went on to win bronze by dominating Willy Kanis of the Netherlands over two legs.

Britain’s Chris Hoy won gold in the men’s track cycling sprint final after beating team-mate Jason Kenny.

Scotsman Hoy claimed his third gold medal of the Games, and third of his career, after beating England’s Kenny over two legs.

Kenny picked up the silver. The bronze medal match between Mickael Bourgain of France and Germany’s Maximilian Levy went to a third leg decider that the Frenchman won.
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