Bettini stars in Munich Six Day

The Munich Six Day starts today at 20:00 and will include world and Olympic champion Paolo Bettini. The Italian, fresh of his six day debut in Grenoble, will once again pair with experience track rider, Italian Marco Villa. The duo will face top names, including Bettini's road rival, Eric Zabel.

Zabel won the Munich Six Day last year with Robert Bartko, and he will be back again this year but with a different partner. For six days the German will be pairing with Swiss Bruno Risi, who is fresh off his win in the Dortmund Six Day. In total there will be 15 couples, five more than Bettini faced in Grenoble.

"I am a little anxious," said Il Grillo to La Gazzetta dello Sport. "In France I understood what a six day is, but here I will be put amongst the best. Villa said to me that if we miss a change we can lose a lap like it is nothing.

"On the track you really have to be wise; shrewdness and the ability to read eyes are more important, and luckily I don't lack this."

"You see that he loves the track atmosphere, and this is important," responded Marco Villa, 37 years-old. "Sometimes he is out of the sprints but he battles nonetheless... This work will in turn be useful for next season if he wishes to continue."