No festive break for Olympic cyclists Alex and Annette Edmondson who are on an Olympic mission

THERE’S no such thing as a Christmas break for Australia’s top track cyclists who take the next step towards the Rio Olympics in Melbourne Saturday night.

Annette Edmondson 24 and her brother Alex Edmondson 21 (Track Cyclists) at the Adelaide SuperDrome. 18/12/15 Picture: Stephen Laffer

THERE’S no such thing as a Christmas break for Australia’s top track cyclists who take the next step towards the Rio Olympics in Melbourne Saturday night.

World champion sprinters and endurance riders will feature in the national madison championship and 118th Austral Wheelrace at Hisense Arena.

Among the field will be Olympic cycling siblings Alex and Annette Edmondson who are racing the Austral/madison double straight off the back of the UCI world cup in New Zealand this month and a brutal week of training in Adelaide’s heatwave.

“It’s been pretty tough not having the break we usually would at this time but I guess we’re on a mission this year,” Annette, 24, said.

“It was a big build up to the New Zealand world cup and we’ve only got Christmas Day off next week but they monitor us pretty closely.”

Annette will again team with Jess Mundy as the pair hunts a third consecutive national women’s madison crown.

“We compliment each other — I’ve got a zip in my sprint and Jess is incredible, I fling her in and she just goes,” Annette said.

“She usually takes the lap and I take the sprint so we’re a good combination.”

Annette will also line up in the women’s Austral where she’ll wear the No. 1 on her back against the likes of Italian professional Valentina Scandolara and national teammate Georgia Baker.

Alex, 21, has overcome a virus which kept him out of the national omnium titles in Adelaide this week to contest the madison with Glenn O’Shea.

But now it’s O’Shea who is facing a race to be fit after he was a late withdrawal from the omnium as well on Wednesday night.

It’s been an eventful season for Alex who won the under-23 Tour of Flanders but missed the second half of the season due to double knee surgery.

“I’m probably a bit ahead of where we thought I’d be given the surgery,” he said.

“It’s been an interesting last couple of months but I’m in pretty good shape.

“My head is in the right place and my legs are starting to move all right as well.”

Orica-GreenEDGE teammates and former madison world champions Cameron Meyer and Leigh Howard will start favourites for the men’s title while Sam Welsford and Miles Scotson, Scott Law and Jackson Law and Callum Scotson and Dan Fitter will also be contenders.

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Originally published as No festive break for Olympic cyclists Alex and Annette Edmondson who are on an Olympic mission