Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Amy Cure took the Gold Medal in the Madison race in the final round of the Track World Cup, in Los Angeles, California. Riding with compatriot Alexandra Manly in the white, green and gold colours of Australia, the duo held on to their overall lead thanks to their second place finish in the final sprint, as the duo from New Zealand threatened to take the victory.

“It was a very close race," Cure told Cycling Australia. “We managed to fight it out in the sprints each time and get some points. But it really came down to the last sprint.”

Coming into the final sprint with 14 points to New Zealand’s nine, the ten points on the line could have seen the team in all-black steal the victory. Cure took second place behind them, however, with the six points taking the final Australian total up to 20 points to New Zealand’s 19.

Cure and Manly’s victory was all the more remarkable for the fact that the Australian team’s bikes were delayed in their journey from Cali, Colombia, where last week’s previous round of the World Cup was held. The Australians were forced to miss out on the Team Pursuit - which they had won in California - and were only just able to compete in the final day’s events.

“It has not been the best preparation only just receiving our bikes yesterday,” Cure explained. “But we have had great help from Canada, New Zealand and USA for lending our team some bikes the last few days as well as Zwift cycling for inviting us into their headquarters for some good training before racing.”

The Madison is new to the women’s programme in the 2016/17 World Cup series, but having had it as part of the Australian Championships means that Cure was far from a novice in what can be one of track cycling’s most complicated events.

“We have a lot to learn out of that race and it was great experience for us moving forward,” Cure said. “It's awesome that the Madison is going in the right direction. We are very lucky in Australia that we have had it as a national championship for three or so years now. But it's always different when you race with someone new.”