Track Cycling World Championships: Victorious reunion for Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, Britain’s ‘perfect pair’

Eight years after their first win as a pair, Britain's golden duo were at their best to triumph in the Madison

Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish celebrate their success (Getty Images)

Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish were thrilled to come full circle, winning the Track Cycling World Championships Madison title here at Lee Valley VeloPark, eight years after their first win as a pair.

Wiggins and Cavendish won the 2008 title in Manchester before their road careers took off. Wiggins became the first British Tour de France winner in 2012, while Cavendish has won 26 Tour stages and the 2011 road race world title before returning to the track. The pair reprised their partnership for one last time at world level and won in emphatic fashion before saluting the crowd and Wiggins kissed the track after Britain’s fifth gold of the five-day event. Laura Trott had earlier won her second gold of the championships in the omnium as the hosts topped the medal table.

Wiggins said: “You couldn’t have written a better script. It was like déjà vu from eight years ago. We went on to conquer the world in those eight years, like Barack Obama.”

The pair scored points early on, winning three straight sprints, before taking a late lap which ensured a crash for Cavendish mattered little.

Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish on their way to Madison gold (Getty Images)

The 30-year-old Manxman hit the deck inside the final 10 laps as Wiggins crossed the line to seal victory. Wiggins added: “I kept looking for him, thinking it had been a long turn. I didn’t realise he’d crashed. I was out of it by then, just foaming at the mouth for the last 10 laps.”

Cavendish added: “Brad and I complement each other really well for the Madison. It’s like the perfect pairing.”

Cavendish now has three world titles in the discipline and four in all, after also winning the 2005 title with Rob Hayles in Los Angeles. Wiggins, who supported Cavendish in his road race win in 2011, has eight world titles: the 2014 road time-trial world title plus seven on the track.

Trott took the omnium gold to add to her scratch winner’s medal. The Olympic champion was 12 points ahead going into the sixth and final event, the points race, and extended her lead to finish ahead of Laurie Berthon of France and Sarah Hammer of the United States.

Laura Trott after winning the women’s omnium, the British cyclist’s second gold medal of the championships (Reuters)

“It’s only taken four years to get the gold back,” laughed Trott, who has won three omnium silver medals since claiming the world title before the 2012 Olympics. “I tried to get enough points early and I’m just so happy. This is what I did before London. This time I really wanted to win so I’m just glad I could pull it off.”

Jason Kenny could not match his fiancee’s feat of a second world crown of the week. The 27-year-old finished sixth in the keirin final as the exertion of winning sprint gold on Saturday night took its toll.

But the triple Olympic champion will be buoyed after rising to the occasion in the sport’s blue riband event, winning a third world title, once again peaking in time for the Olympics.

“I didn’t feel I had the legs to take it on from the front so I was gambling and gambling, trying to get a wheel,” Kenny said. “I ran out of legs really quickly, which I expected.

“I was pleased how I got to the final, but couldn’t quite get down to the black line. The main thing for me and the sprint lads is that we’re fast enough to be competitive with five months to go to the one we want to win.”