Sundays at German Six-day races have always traditionally been ‘Family Day’ with the programme of sport and entertainment held during the afternoon rather than starting in the early evening and going long in to the night. With temperatures outside now (just) above freezing, making it a relatively mild Berlin winter afternoon, local families came along to the Landsberger Allee Velodrome to celebrate the past, present and future in this their 102nd Six-day race.
The race programme kicked off with a series of Sprints no overall winner just teams adding points to their totals. The riders then went straight into a short Derny race which in traditional crowd pleasing style was a nip and tuck battle to the line. The surprise winners were Dutchmen Wim Stroetinga and Nick Stopler who gladly accepted the bouquet, and accompanying applause.
The big chase of the afternoon began at 13.35, a 45 minute Madison. The leading teams appeared to be marking each other, so Stroetinga & Stopler and Thomel & Grasmann escaped to gain a lap on the rest. The Dutchmen continued their good start to Sundays programme but it was the Germans who took the win, racing half a lap clear of the field.
After a rest for some off track entertainment the riders got up again for the Team Elimination where Kalz & Bengsch continued their good showing. Despite victory (with Marvulli) in Bremen last week, winning his home town Six is looking like a long shot for Kalz.
The Sunday programme’s second Madison over 30 minutes proved to be another stalemate amongst the top teams with the French, Kneisky & Brisse being the main aggressors and grabbing the win. They’ve improved day by day and are back to just 2 laps down overall. They probably needed more time than the main Six-day guys coming in from Bremen to find their legs but now look amongst the strongest in the chases. With the Worlds less than a month away they look to be a pair to watch out for.
Last but not least for today was another Derny round won by Barth & Mohs. So after a stop start afternoon of racing the riders now have a full 24 hours too rest before battle recommences tomorrow night.
Official Standings after 4 Days:
1 De Ketele (Bel) – Roberts (Aus) 155 points
2 Marvulli (Swi) – Müller (Ger) 140 @ 1 lap
3 Kluge (Ger) – Schep (Ned) 128
4 Bartko – Reinhardt (Ger) 123
5 Bengsch (Ger) – Kalz (Ger) 174 @ 2 laps
6 Kneisky (Fra) – Brisse (Fra) 87
7 Stroetinga (Ned) – Stopler (Ned) 56 @ 4 laps
8 Grassmann (Ger) – Thömel (Ger) 51
9 Barth (Ger) – Mohs (Ger) 102 @ 5 laps
10 Lampater (Ger) – Lib (Ger) 74
11 Mertens (Bel) – Pirius (Ger) 51 @ 8 laps
12 Masotti (Ita) – Ciccone (Ita) 50 @ 11 laps
13 Krasnow (Rus) – Ershov (Rus) 32
14 Morkov (Den) – Wotschke (Ger) 31
15 Bommel (Ger) – Thiele (Ger) 64 @ 12 laps
16 East (USA) – Schroder (Ger) 32 @ 14 laps
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