Tokyo Olympics 2020: Campbell Stewart, Aaron Gate end New Zealand's golden World Cup in style

Campbell Stewart has made it back-to-back gold medals at the track cycling World Cup in Cambridge, teaming up with Aaron Gate to claim the men's madison race.

The pair hadn't raced together since January, but clearly didn't take long to find their rhythm, leading for almost the entire 50km, 200-lap race.

"We wanted to really push the boat and see what we could do over a 50km race,"  said Gate. "The Olympic distance is 50, so we just wanted to get stuck in and see what we could do.

"We had the advantage early on with the points on the board and we managed to hold onto it."

The pair had Australians Cameron Meyer and Kelland O'Brien nipping at their heels for all of those 200 laps, but ultimately, the Kiwis extended the lead lap by lap to finish 43 points clear. 

They maintained a staggering pace of just under 60km/h for the duration of the 51 minute race.

"The feeling of the crowd pushing us around the track, it brought back memories of January, so I think it helped us get around," said Stewart.

But despite the comfortable victory, Gate insists there's plenty of work left to perfect the combination.

"Technically, I was a bit rusty out there," he said. "The changes and everything have to be slick and mine weren't exactly amazing." 

The win gives the pair the upper hand, as the endurance programme coaches consider different combinations, before settling on a pair for February's world champs in Berlin and, eventually, the Tokyo Olympics.

But Stewart insists they're anything but locked in for the madison.

"We've got so many other great guys out there. They're biting at our heels, but we're putting our hands up, saying we want to be out there riding."

A yet-to-be-confirmed pair will race the event at next weekend's third World Cup in Brisbane.

Stewart and Gate can watch on comfortably, knowing whoever it is can only match them at best.

Their Cambridge victory brought New Zealand's medal total to eight, including three golds.

That eight medals include the bronze by the Subway NZ Trade Team of Michaela Drummond and Jessie Hodges in the women's madison on Sunday.