Six of the best: Cycling's most popular variété show

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Waiting for the show to begin at the Six Days of Munich(Image credit: Birke Ulrich)

Tales from the (Six Day) peloton, November 18, 2004

European Six Day track events are an unusual species of race. They're held in indoor velodromes, during the evening (usually from 6pm to midnight), six evenings in a row. Most of the spectators are there to enjoy fine dining within the oval venue, meet friends and be entertained with music and artistic dance shows. And catch the racing, of course, which is very fast and confusing - anyone not acquainted with the rules and disciplines will literally lose track (sorry) of it.

Speaking of suits, it was American businessmen who saw the potential of the event, and the first Six Day in the United States was held in Detroit in 1879. Not much is known of these pioneer races, except that they were scheduled to last from noon until midnight and were even held in places as far away as the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide (1881), which boast a long and successful track cycling history, demonstrated most recently at the Athens Olympic Games.

About 10 years later, U.S. riders' racing times were raised to 18 hours a day, then to the full 24 hours a day a few more years later for a total of 144 hours on the bike - making it more of a survival test than a bike race. Teddy Hale, winner of the 1896 New York Six Day (and the first representative of the "League of the American Wheelman", USA Cycling's predecessor), said he had pedalled himself into a state of hypnosis, unwilling or unable to step off his bike - even although the race had come to its end!

After three gruesome editions, authorities finally prohibited these six-day solo endurance tests. But instead of reducing racing the hours, competitors were given teammates to 'relieve' each other. In doing so, the original Six Day paired racing concept was born, known as the "Américaine" after its origins in New York's Madison Square Garden in late 1899, or the "Madison", as it is still called in Europe today.

Only a witty trick from the event's doctor saved the day, as he decided to use media coverage to create the hype: initiating a press conference on his own accord, the doctor accused the organisers of forcing the riders to perform in terrible conditions, and claimed the mental strain caused the riders to retreat into hysteria. The medic provided the story, journalists loved it, and the people came back to see what it was all about!

But with the Nazi regime in power in Germany, prohibiting Sixes from 1934 until the start of World War II, races and their riders moved back to the United States yet again. Continuation of the riders' fame and fortune was short-lived, however, as an irreversible decline took hold, spurred by changing leisure habits in the U.S. in the '50s and '60s and the growing popularity of road cycling and football. In America as well as in Australia, several attempts to revive the public's interest in velodromes failed, and the Six Days would never again captivate the masses like they used to.

The Munich Six, for example, even offers a post-race club, where the party continues until early morning - though not for the riders, of course. With lots of beer and sausages, the atmosphere is very close to the famous Oktoberfest. In Grenoble, Tour de France finish-line speaker Daniel Mangeas commentates throughout the race, cabaret girls add to the flair and French wine and food make it hard to concentrate on the main reason why the arena is packed, the racing. Even with these additional goings-on, the cycling is still an essential part of the event, even if some Six Day pundits have argued that commercialisation has taken over the quality of racing.

The goal, however, is simple: the team with the most points after six nights wins. Of course, the riders don't circle around the track for 144 hours anymore; typically, total racing time is about four to five hours a night, totalling 1000-1500km in the end. Compared that to the world record set in 1924, the last year where riders had to pedal around the clock: the winning team covered a total of 4,544.2 km.

The Madison - the main event each night - typically covers between 40-60km. Two-men (sometimes three, but on very rare occassions) teams circle around the velodrome, trying to lap each other as well as score points every 20 laps in the intermediate sprints. Only one rider of each team is actually racing at any given time, while his partner rides neutralised at the top of the track's banking, ready to be thrown into the action every two or three laps with the handsling manoeuvre. Trying to lap other teams is the main objective, as laps determine final victory should two teams be equal on points - although every 100 points count for one lap.

Organisers often throw in other events such as Derny or Stayer races, where each rider paces behind a small motorcycle called a "Derny", and Keirin races, where all riders follow behind one Derny before it pulls off for a final bunch sprint. Match Sprints between two riders are also a regular crowd pleaser at Six Days. Along with the Keirin, they often belong to a set of races performed only by sprinters and do not count for final Six Day points tally. Similarly, there are Junior and Women's events, but again, this is up to the race organisers.

Some continue to do so although even after a packed summer schedule. T-Mobile teammates Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag like to join forces at the Dortmund Six Day, for example, but both of them have matched with other riders, as team composition is not subject to any rule. However, the "King of Six Days" beyond doubt is Belgian Patrick Sercu: with 88 victories to his account, he dominated the sport in the 70s, sometimes pairing with road legend Eddy Merckx, and continues to organise and direct a lot of European Six Days like Munich, Ghent, Bremen and Amsterdam. Second on the absolute victories ranking is Australian Danny Clarke with 74 wins, achieved mainly in the 80s and early 90s.

The most successful couple is the current Swiss pair Bruno Risi and Kurt Betschart, who have already topped every other pair in history with 34 overall victories. Other contemporary stars include the Italian Madison specialists Marco Villa and Silvio Martinello with 22 and 28 victories so far respectively; some say that if they had teamed up more often, they would have cracked Risi and Betschart's record.