Zabel and Lampater seek revenge in Munich

The finish of the Dortmund Six Day came down to just one thin point separating first from second at the end of night five. With the home town favourites of Erik Zabel and his compatriot Leif Lampater led the Madison World Champions Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli by that tenuous margin. What followed was a heart-stopping point for point battle that lasted until the night's final event, where Franco Marvulli bested Erik Zabel for the last sprint and gave his Swiss team the overall win. The two teams will have another chance to battle for victory in the Munich Six Day, which began Thursday.

Zabel and Lampater managed to win a new car in Dortmund's Mazda Auto-prime competition, but this was no solace for losing the overall classification. "The road season was long and I switched directly from the road to the track at the Amsterdam's Six Day," Zabel said according to the team's website www.team-milram.com. "Of course, there are moments when the legs are a little bit tired. But with Leif Lampater I had and will have a very good partner."

The stakes are high in Munich, which is regarded as the unofficial Six Day world championship. In the first night's opening Madison, Risi and Marvulli displayed the momentum which drove them to victory in Dortmund. The pair stole a lap, and led alone on the 'zero lap' with 44 points ahead of the pair of Robert Bartko and Iljo Keisse who had 25. Zabel and Lampater were in fourth place with 19 points with plenty of racing left to be had.