Wednesday morning in the camper van, long straights of grey motorway tarmac through a flat, snow blanketed landscape, minus three, no sunshine, just more grey above us; in all the times I’ve worked at the Copenhagen Six Day 2010 Six, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sun.
The boys did it, I didn’t think they would, but they did – it was wonderful to be a part of it.
Last year was a bigger ‘high’ because it was their first win at home and Gent was probably one of the best weeks of my life.
But last night was cool; to have the World Champions wrap their arms round you and hug you – that’s special.
The sixth day is always an uneasy one, the final chase is on everyone’s mind – but nobody mentions it.
Patrick Sercu appeared; he’s still the ‘Mr. Big’ on the circuit and to cross him would be extremely unwise.
The racing started and Franco grabbed the mega vino, in the sprint series – again; Bjarne Riis was back to see his two dashing young stars and I got to meet one of my heroes.
I’d never have recognised him but Kris did – Ole Ritter.
Worlds medallist on road and track, top ten Giro finisher, Six Day man (3 wins), World Hour Record Holder (it took Merckx to beat it) and the chrono man supreme – no one ever looked better on a time trial bike than Ole Ritter.
Fellow Scot and long time Six Day fan, John Young arrived to shoot the last day, fully credded up as a photog, looking the part and getting in the thick of the action – it’s some of his shots you’re seeing on today’s diary.
The VIP’s and media were everywhere – a thing that folks don’t realise is that for a top home team like Alex and Michael, the demands of press, radio and TV are a major stress generator.
It’s difficult to imagine a constant stream of microphone totting individuals being allowed into the Manchester United dressing room, just before the Champions League final.
Alex and Michael take it all in their stride, polite, smiling and always accommodating of photo and interview requests – real pros.
The evening wore on, Danny Clark sang, ‘Proud Mary, and ‘My Way‘, he was telling me that he practices with his karaoke machine for an hour or two, every day
Bruno won the derny, then it was time for his goodbye – this one wasn’t as schmaltzy as Gent; ‘he can still kick all our asses!‘ said Michael in a nice little speech.
Bruno’s old partner, Kurt Betschart was there; they sprung him on Bruno, ‘This is Your Life’ style.
‘We’ve had good fights, big fights, but fair fights,‘ said Bruno – well…
Hollywood was on top form for the balustrade sprint, pulling his jersey up over his head and taking a bow at the end – it sounds corny, but when you’re there, with the crowd and the music, it’s special.
The big chase, and we were all nervous, riders and helpers alike – except Franco; he chomped on wine gums, leaned on the cabin and thought about his day in Prague on Wednesday.
Seconds before the start, mics were still being thrust into our boys faces – the answers were calm and considered.
It was a good chase, Keisse and Bartko were very active; Iljo’s hand slings are extraordinary to watch, powerful, committed, desperate even.
As it does in the best Sixes, it was all down to the last sprints.
Alex is the classic sprinter, however wasted he is, show him a finish line and he’ll forget all about how bad he feels.
With 27 to go, he thought he’d punctured.
Dirk and I have got the bike changing down to a fine art; I haul the rider in, grab the ‘dead’ bike, Dirk has the new one ready, the rider hops on and Dirk hurls them back in.
But Alex is a big boy and he was still rolling hard when he came in, I had to grab his arm with two hands to pull him up.
‘I don’t think anyone could do these bike changes any faster than us, Dirk,‘ I said to our ice cool spanner man.
‘That’s why they chose us!‘ he replied.
Everything was on the line, both teams on 263, Michael almost did a track stand in the home straight with three to go to shorten Alex’s spell and let him rest a little for that last, crucial sprint.
It was all on the line, all down to Alex; Keisse tried hard – but the man from Odense wasn’t to be denied.
Fixed? – sure, all you have to do is outsprint Alex Rasmussen every ten laps (or two minutes) over the last 50 laps of a one hour madison conducted at nearly 60 kph – easy!
Hope you enjoyed our coverage and thank you for reading.
Ciao, ciao.
Copenhagen Six Day 2010 Results
Sprint 1
1 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den) 5 pts
2 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 3
3 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 2
4 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den) 1
Sprint 2
1 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA) 5 pts
2 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 3
3 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze) 2
Sprint 3
1 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 5 pts
2 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 4
3 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 3
4 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den) 2
Sprint 4
1 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 5 pts
2 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den) 3
3 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze) 2
4 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den) 1
Sprint 5
1 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi) 5 pts
2 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 3
3 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 2
Sprint 6
1 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den) 5 pts
2 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den) 3
3 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den) 2
4 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den) 1
Ballerup Grand Prix
1 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 10 pts
2 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den) 6
3 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze) 4
4 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 2
5 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze)
6 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den)
7 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi)
8 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel)
9 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA)
10 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned)
11 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den)
12 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den)
13 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den)
Derny
1 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 10 pts
2 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 8
3 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 6
4 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 4
5 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA) 2
6 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze)
7 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den)
8 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze)
9 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi)
10 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den)
11 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned)
12 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den)
13 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den)
Flying Lap
1 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 10 pts
2 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 6
3 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 5
4 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi) 4
5 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 3
6 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den) 2
7 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze)
8 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den)
9 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze)
10 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned)
11 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA)
12 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den)
13 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den)
500m Time Trial
1 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi) 0:00:27.528
2 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 0:00:27.584
3 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 0:00:27.625
4 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den) 0:00:28.393
5 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 0:00:28.443
6 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den) 0:00:28.590
7 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 0:00:28.734
8 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze) 0:00:28.742
9 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze) 0:00:28.987
10 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA) 0:00:29.028
11 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den) 0:00:30.075
12 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned) 0:00:30.580
13 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den) 0:00:30.581
Team Elimination
1 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA) 20 pts
2 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den) 12
3 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi) 10
4 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den) 8
5 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 6
6 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den) 4
7 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 2
8 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze)
9 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze)
10 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned)
11 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi)
12 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den)
13 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den)
Derny Sprint
1 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 10 pts
2 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze) 6
3 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den) 5
4 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi) 4
5 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 3
6 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den) 2
7 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze)
8 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den)
9 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den)
10 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den)
11 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA)
12 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned)
13 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den)
Giant Sprint
1 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 10 pts
2 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi) 6
3 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den) 4
4 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den) 3
5 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 2
6 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze)
7 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze)
8 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi)
9 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel)
10 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA)
11 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned)
12 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den)
13 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den)
Madison
1 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 46 pts
2 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 34
3 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 20
4 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned)
One lap behind
5 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den)
Two laps behind
6 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den)
7 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den)
Three laps behind
8 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze) 4 pts
9 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den) 2
10 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA)
11 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi)
Five laps behind
12 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze)
Six laps behind
13 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den) 4 pts
Final Overall Standings
1 Alex Rasmussen / Michael Mørkøv (Den) 273 pts
2 Robert Bartko / Iljo Keisse (Ger/Bel) 269
3 Bruno Risi / Franco Marvulli (Swi) 253
4 Danny Stam / Peter Schep (Ned) 122
Six laps behind
5 Léon van Bon / Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Ned/Den) 234
Twelve laps behind
6 Jens-Erik Madsen / Marc Hester (Den) 149
Fourteen laps behind
7 Colby Pearce / Daniel Holloway (USA) 129
Sixteen laps behind
8 Andreas Müller / Jesper Mørkøv (Aut/Den) 83
Seventeen laps behind
9 Alexander Aeschbach / Michael Færk (Swi/Den) 112
Twenty laps behind
10 Sebastian Donadio / Tristan Marguet (Arg/Swi) 142
Twenty four laps behind
11 Alexei Shmidt / Jiri Hochmann (Rus/Cze) 43
Thirty one laps behind
12 Aloïs Kankovsky / Petr Lazar (Cze) 55
Thirty six laps behind
13 Michael Smith Larsen / Michael Berling (Den) 91
UIV Cup
1 Sebastian Lander / Christian Kreutzfeldt (Den) 5 pts
Two laps behind
2 George Atkins / Jonathan Mould (GBr) 25
3 Damien Corthésy / Loïc Perizzolo (Swi) 16
4 Emil Hovmand / Mathias Greve (Den) 12
5 Lasse Norman Hansen / Daniel Mielke (Den)
Three laps behind
6 Ian Moir / Kit Karzen (USA) 12 pts
7 Mike Lauge / Nichlas E. Sørensen (Den) 12
8 Frederik Schwartz / Casper Degn Larsen (Den) 7
9 Mathias Øllegaard / Stefan Linné Jørgensen (Den) 6
10 Bob Stöpler / Bouke Kuiper (Ned) 3
11 Simon Bigum / Rasmus H. Lund (Den) 1
12 Davide Comolino / Andrea Comuzzi (Ita)
13 Philip Frank / Mikkel Mortensen (Den)
Four laps behind
14 Jonas Jørgensen / Sebastian Refsgaard (Den)
With thanks to John Young for the fantastic Copenhagen Six Day 2010 photos.
