He will team up with fellow South Australian Sport Institute rider Robert-Jon McCarthy in the state elite men’s championship at the Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club velodrome.

Scotson partnered Alex Edmondson last year to claim gold.

Scotson and McCarthy finished 10th in the 2011 Australian Madison Championship.

Bendigo’s Sam Crome is also returning after finishing third 12 months ago.

Tom Schintler replaces Jamie Crass as Crome’s partner in a bid for another podium finish. Riders from the Victorian Institute of Sport are also Ballarat bound.

The state elite men’s and women’s and under-17 boys’ madison championships are the feature events of a track carnival in the two-day Ballarat Spokes Festival.

The Ballarat Sebastopol club also has the opening round of the Victorian Mountain Bike Enduro Series on Saturday in the festival, which rounds out on Sunday with a recreation charity ride from Lake Wendouree taking in the national road championships circuit at Buninyong.

SASI coach Tim Decker also has another young team of George Tansley and Josh Harrison competing in the madison.Other madison entries include Ballarat’s Doug Garley-Liam White, Bendigo’s David Pell-Ash Harding and the city-country duo, Tyler Spurrell-Brendan Schultz.

Tansley also rode in the national madison championship, finishing in the top 10.

Josh Liston and Angus Lyon will represent Ballarat Sebastopol in the under-17 madison. This is the second year Ballarat Sebastopol has hosted the state madison championship.

The carnival, which carries $9000 in prizemoney, will also feature senior and junior wheelraces, and a country versus city under-17 pursuit challenge.