Rotterdam Six Day 2012 – Day Two

It’s not a proper Six Day unless it’s a marathon to get there – and really you should arrive in a different country. My journey to the Rotterdam Six Day 2012 meant a super-early start, Transit van to West Craigs, cab to Edinburgh airport, plane to Amsterdam, train to Rotterdam, Metro to the Ahoy Stadium – then walk across the road.

I arrived in the same country though, so it’s not really a proper trip.

In Grenoble we were just a little too early for Johnny Halliday, here we’re too early for The Backstreet Boys – damn!

It’s a portable track here, 200 metres, but unlike Zurich which is on timber trusses, this one is on steel portals which makes it an altogether stiffer job – it’s 13.5 degrees on the straights and 49.5 on the bankings.

Gent is only 160 metres – and the smallest track you can run a UCI Six Day on is 140 metres.

The Zurich track surface is laminated board which looks like individual strips of wood, but isn’t – there’s no pretence here, it’s good old 8′ x 4′ plywood sheets.

The teams that catch my eye are in the programme are #2 Terpstra/Keisse, #3 Ligthart/Bartko, #6 Schep/Stroetinga, #9 Mouris/Marvulli – they look like the podium teams to me.

Kris reckons from what he saw last night (Thursday, Day One), teams #2, #6 and #9 are the ones.

There are a few stalwarts at the Revolution – Grasmann, Müller and Aeschbach for instance, but the field here isn’t at all bad.

As well as my faves above, there’s Stam/Havik; this is the last Dutch Six Day of Danny’s career, so he’ll want to go out on a ‘high’ – and Havik was good at Amsterdam.

And Lampater rides with Van Bon – the curly headed Dutchman will be 40 this month so this must be his last season, too.

Further to Danny Clark kicking men half his age around the track at nearly 50, a rule was introduced that you had to quit at 40.

Maybe if Danny hadn’t looked like he was 60? He actually looks younger now than he did in his prime.

That says something about Six Day racing – but Danny was riding between a dozen and 17 races each season, no wonder he looked grim.

In the cabin we have Jesper Mørkøv, Franco Marvulli and Alex Rasmussen – it’s good to see him back, he’s lost a little more weight and looks in great shape.

He pedals in and out to the hotel – seven kilometres each way, but has also been banging in an extra couple of hours, each afternoon.

Put your money on him now for the Giro prologue in May.

Franco is leading here with big Dutchman Jens Mouris, who’s looking very smooth and strong in the chases.

I was down in the assembly area when the U23 riders were getting their pre-race briefing; ‘I want this race to be conducted in a sporting fashion!’ said the commissaire.

The silence was deafening.

On the techie side, Bartko has finally given up on his Cervélo and is on a Giant (despite what the decals say) his position is still extreme though, way forward over the bracket.

Alex has gone the other way and is on a Cervélo – Garmin’s bike sponsors after all – his long term relationship with Principias at an end.

Iljo’s Dolans have gone now that he’s back with QuickStep; he’s on Specialized and teamed with race and trade team mate Niki Terpstra – stunningly light bikes.

And the masking tape has been out in force on the Vacansoleil boys’ Ridleys – they ride Bianchis for 2012.

The racing?

It’s good – the track is quick (the lap record is 10.305 for Chris Hoy in 2009) the field is good and so are the crowds.

From a runner’s perspective it’s a good Six, not too janitorial and the food is good – the only real ‘neg’ is the lack of space.

The cabin area is very tight, and you can’t really see much of the racing due to the track centre VIP kitchen being right behind us.

And in one of our cabins we have to find room for three riders, Franco plus two Dutch lads who have no soigneur or runner.

They’ll be on a small contract and can’t afford the ‘luxury’ but they way they leave their stuff does my head in – it’s like the cabin has been hit by an Exocet.

Unhappiest men of the day?

Kevin Sireau, slumped at reception, mumbling in to a mobile; he started the day as World Team Sprint Champion and ended it as ‘just another rider’ – albeit the fastest man alive over 200 metres – thanks to Big Gregory’s Whereabouts indiscretions.

Shouldn’t the UCI have a page on their website where anyone can check what the missed Whereabouts standings are?

If a rider has one warning then this would keep it in his management’s line of site and also mean that Cav’s missing of a test was ‘out there’ immediately in the public eye and not some ‘mega revelation?’

Maybe that would be too sensible?

And it wasn’t a good day for 2010 Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne winner, Bobby Traksel.

After 20 minutes of the 60 minute chase you could see he was starting to struggle, 20 minutes later, he was wasted – unable to hold the string.

When a rider is that fried they become very dangerous, their judgement is impaired and they make mistakes.

It was painful to watch Bobby, and by the end team #12, Jonkman/Pronk were in the same boat – gasping at the back of the string until an attack goes and they start the inexorable slide back to the front of the string.

And here’s your Six Day ‘rule of the day’:

3.2.002 ‘Riders shall refrain from any collusion, manoeuvre or movement likely to hinder the conduct or distort the result of the race.’

Hmmmm!

Rotterdam Six Day - Results from Day One