EDDIE Worrall's adaptability on the bike is proving a winning asset.
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The Warrnambool teenager teamed up with Melbourne-based racer Tarun Cook to win the Cycling Victoria under 17 madison title in Castlemaine on Friday.
It was just Worrall's second serious attempt at the discipline which pits teams of two against each other on a velodrome.
Worrall, 15, said it was humbling to take out the 20-lap feature with Cook.
The emerging pair lapped its opponents and won all the sprint sections on offer which boosted its points tally.
"I haven't done many at all, that's my second madison," Worrall said.
"Going into to it we were favourites but we knew it would be hard to come up with a win.
"It feels really good, knowing all the hard work is paying off. It was hard in the heat but heaps of fun. It was pushing 40 degrees (at times) but was sitting around 35 all day."
Worrall, who will start year 10 at Emmanuel College next month, said communication was the catalyst for their success.
"When you're swinging in, you're always talking," he said.
"And when you're in a bunch especially it's all about communication and talking, not only to your partner but people around you."
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Worrall will finish a four-day cycling tour in Melbourne today.
He raced in Castlemaine on Friday and Bendigo on Saturday and Sunday as part of its Christmas carnival.
Three different tracks - two outdoor and one indoor - in four days was the ideal challenge for Worrall.
"I like the inside track. It's a lot shorter, 250 metres, and the banks are really steep, it's really fun," he said.
"You get a lot more weather elements (in Castlemaine and Bendigo), like the wind and the rain, and it's a lot hotter."
Worrall, whose older brother Darcy also races, juggles track and road racing and is determined to improve in both disciplines.
"Over the last 12 months I've been training really hard and slowly building up the kilometres and endurance and at the moment I am moving into my fine-tuning because I have (the rest of the track) states in a couple of weeks," he said.
"I am really happy with the way I am progressing. I have started doing a lot more races, just to get my race craft (better) and learn tactics a bit more."
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