So the first big event of the winter has come and gone. And like any bicycle race, there were a number of ups and downs along the way. The field was packed with top level riders. The two Australians represented in the race were each multiple time World Champions as junior while the Polish team was comprised on two very strong riders – one of which finishedf second in the points race at the Elite Track World Championships. Now remember, this is the U25 event and not the big show with Zabel, Luke Roberts, and the other superstars. Needless to say, the competition to try and get into the big pro events is highly competitive.

Dortmund is a 200m wood track that has about 4 good cracks that run from the bottom to the top of the track. After doing 200 lap madisons each night, you came off the track more than a little sore. Our event was filled with many big names and accomplished riders but Jackie and I had our sights set on a top five finish in the event. Unfortunately, things did not pan out as we had hope. The event was a mix of ups and downs. The first days Jackie rode incredibly well. I had been struck by some sort of flu-type bug and it was his strength that kept us in contention for a top five result. Finally, on the last day we got our act together. I was starting to feel healthy and we both rode a very aggressive race. Just when things began to look good, though, Jackie got a rear flat while I was riding relief. Consequently, we immediately lost a lap. Our coach at the event, a Lithuanian named Naglis (we was a really good professional – teammates with Andrei Tchmil, a pro with Cafe Colombia, and world champ with the USSR in the team pursuit) quickly put a new rear wheel on and we were back in action. Almost as soon as Jackie was back in he attacked off the front. We quickly won a points sprint and were well on our way to lapping the field solo. As if our luck hadn´t been bad enough, the rails on my saddle snapped and our chance of lapping the field and moving back into the top five for the day quickly vanished. Hearing the German announcer shouting our name while our lead quickly dwindled was only salt in the wound. We finished the final madison but five laps down instead of in the front five. Trying to look at it through rose-tinted glasses, I guess, we were both encouraged by the fact that when we are healthy and on form we are perfectly capable of riding blow for blow with these guys.

At the end of our event, which only spanned three days we got the result sheets for each night. They had the distance, which was 40km every night, as well as the time. The first night was 40km in 47min. The second night was 40km in 46:27. The final night was 40km in 48:42.

Besides our racing, it is great to just be a part of the six day atmosphere. Each afternoon we would head to the track for an easy 45min. spin (with maybe a couple one lap openers) and it was great to get a chance to ride behind Zabel or get a sling from Robert Bartko when he opened up a gap as he swung out of the paceline. Furthermore, the whole environment and lifestyle is just insane. We were the first races off and we never finished until after 8 while the pros would go until 2am. The mechanics and soigneurs slept in little barracks built underneath the track. Between the drunken fans, the exhaust fumes from the derny bikes, and the 80s techno renditions that blasted until the early morning hours, I could help but crack a smile and think what a great way to spend an evening.

David Wiswell

www.echappeonline.com

Photos:

1) Jackie riding relief during the first evening´s madison.

2) A view from the stands during one of the pro madisons. All the room on the inside of the track is filled with tables where people can pay to eat dinner and get thoroughly tanked on German beer.

3) Jackie and I getting ready to head up onto the track for our race.

4) Jackie and I after the last evening. The organizer gives you jerseys while you ride your own shorts. Shorts, though, are not bibs but special six day shorts that you tuck the jerseys into. The jerseys are one size fits all so they are typically a little large and, therefore, you need to tuck them into your shorts.

5) Each madison team is introduced before each night´s madison. This is Jackie and I during our introduction. Special effects and all.

Part II

Dortmund – The Ruthless and Unabashed

To be fair, I don’t think I gave enough insight into everything that was going on at the six days in Dortmund. Honestly, I was sitting at the internet café yesterday trying to write as best I could but with my minutes quickly ticking away I left out some details that give the event a different scope as well as some more depth. Firstly, the pro event is the main focus every evening. We are there to essentially warm up the crowd and get the evening started. With this said, though, these UIV Cup events (the under 25 events that kick off each night’s racing) are one of the primary ways in which a cyclist can make it into the pro sixes. While the pro sixes may seem foreign to many American cyclists, they are a staple of European racing that shapes the fall and winter cycling season along with cyclocross. And there is a ton of money. Bettini rode the Grenoble and Dortmund Six Days last winter and his contract at Dortmund was 100,000 Euro itself. Rarely does a pro rider make this much money, but it shows how lucrative these events can be as well as the amount of money that each event has at its disposal.

Now with these few details in place the UIV Cup takes on a different perspective. Each madison team dreams of the chance to get called up for the pro events. The difficult part, though, is the limited number of teams in the pro events as well as the U25 races. The tracks are tiny – 200 meters is an average size while other tracks are only 166 meters. Consequently, there are usually between eleven and fourteen teams in the events. Now add in the number of riders pushing to get a start and you have an ultra-competitive stage in which teams are all vying for the few available positions.

This competition, though, has manifested itself in different ways over the past weeks and Dortmund is the best example. There are three American teams in Europe trying to get start positions for the UIV Cup. First are the US Nations Team, Guy East and Austin Carroll, then David Butterworth’s team of Brian Crobsy and Adrian Hegyvary and then Jackie and myself. With riders applying for start positions from all over the world there is no way that three American teams with be entered into the event. A Danish team could not make the start in Dortmund so, contrary to my last sentence, the third American was granted the start position that opened up. Now this is where things got interesting. Guy and Austin rode a solid race but, as the National Team, they should have crushed Jackie and myself. On the contrary, though, Jackie and I solidly beat them the first two nights and finished tied in the overall. Luckily USA Cycling was able to save face because of our mechanical problems on the last night (Yes, Guy was a teammate on Sakonnet). Otherwise, the outsiders would have been the first American team each night as well as the best place team in the overall. And, once again, this is extremely important when vying for start positions.

While USA Cycling and ourselves were duking it out to be the top American team, David Butterworth was behind the scenes spinning his own little web. His riders were getting their heads kicked in each night. They were missing exchanges and getting lapped again and again every race. Rather than trying to get his riders back on track and salvage whatever was left, Butterworth, unbeknownst to his riders, turned his back on them. First, a German fan came and spoke to Guy about living in Indianapolis (Guy’s hometown) and what a good guy their coach was. Their coach, Clay Worthington, had not been the guy the German fan was talking to but David Butterworth who was posing as the USA Cycling coach. The next night Butterworth tried the same tactics with us. Jackie and I were riding well so he started to tell people that we were “his riders.” When I heard all this I couldn’t believe it. A real weasel. And now the icing on the cake – Munich started last night and Jackie and I had a start position for the event. Right now, though, I am sitting at the breakfast table in Gent writing this entry. Why? Butterworth told the organizers at Munich that he was bringing the USA Federation team for the UIV Cup. When, in actuality, he is bringing the same guys that were embarrassing themselves in Dortmund. Needless to say, we are both furious. Jackie and I still have a bunch of big races coming up though. We race Sunday in Gent then next Tuesday and Friday in Amsterdam but, really, what a snake in the grass. I’m trying to not let it get to me though. Things come full circle and, when the time is right, he’ll get what’s coming to him.