Six Day Melbourne: Australians Sam Welsford and Cameron Scott top leaderboard after first night
The pair pulled out a considerable lead over their New Zealander rivals
Cameron Scott (left) and Sam Welsford lead the Six Day Melbourne (Photo by Con Chronis/Getty Images)
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The first night of Six Day Melbourne saw home stars Sam Welsford and Cameron Scott take a substantial lead over their nearest rivals.
Welsford and Cameron broke the 100-point barrier on Thursday evening (February 7), giving them a 29-point buffer over New Zealanders Aaron Gate and Shane Archbold.
In the women’s competition, Annette Edmonson sealed the omnium victory and leads the overall classification heading into the second night.
While the sprint competition is currently headed by James Brister, who took a surprise time trial victory.
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Welsford said: “We’re happy to come out on top – it was really fast out there today, we’re keen to see how we go tomorrow defending that GC.”
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Scott added: “The New Zealanders are two very strong riders and it will be hard to keep them at bay, but we’ll do our best.”
Weslford and Scott lead the competition with 102 points, Archbold and Gate on 80, followed by Stephen Bradbury and Jarrad Drizners third on 71.
Anette Edmondson fended off a challenge by Amy Cure to take the omnium title – she leads the general classification with 118 points to Cure’s 110.
Alex Manly sits in second on 94.
Ashlee Ankudinoff put in an aggressive attack to win the 7.5km scratch race, but Edmonson powered to victory in the elimination to take the lead.
She held her advantage by winning the tempo and holding on in the final points race.
Edmondson said: “I thought I had it controlled, and I did until the last 20 laps when Amy Cure really gave it to me.
“I know how much harder it is to be in second because you’ve got to make the moves.
“I feel like she rode the best race I’ve ever seen in second wheel. She made me work for it.”
“Things get tricky in the second half but luckily I had a bit of a buffer going into the final.
“It’s my first omnium win for a while – I had a break, went to the road, came back – and it really does mean a lot to be on top.
In the sprints, James Brister faced off against compatriot Tom Clarke, with the latter taking the victory.
But Brister leads the competition on 47 points, trailed by Russia’s Shane Perkins on 42, and Clarke on 41.
Perkins and Azizulshani Awang dominated in the keirin.
After kicking on early, Perkins just about held off the late charge from Awang and raised his wheel over the line to take victory.
The three-night event continues on Friday (February 8).
Tickets are on sale now at https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/sixdaymanchester
The Six Day Series is heading to Manchester between 22-24 March 2019. See some of the world’s best riders including Olympic and World Champions.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.