Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Three

‘Just Another Tequila Sunrise,’ it’s ironic that the covers band who kick off as soon as the racing finishes here at the Berlin Six Day at gone 01:00am aren’t half bad – but it’s time for me to disappear down the tunnel to hang up the washing etc. etc.

The track centre party goes on ’til 02:30 am but I hope to be in a coma by then.

Didi Thurau, was on the front page of the Berlin papers on what was a cold Saturday morning.

Few men have looked better astride a bicycle than the ‘Golden Angel’ as the German Media had it at the time.

Tall, blonde, slim, handsome, fast it seemed there was nothing he couldn’t do.

A World Amateur Team Pursuit Champion whilst still in his teens, Peter Post snapped him up for his Raleigh ‘super team.’

He was winning high level races like the GP Fourmies as a first year pro.

By his second year he was already a top man in the Six Days (ultimately winning 29) and able to take four stages in the Vuelta.

But in ’77 he truly arrived, winning every stage bar one of the Ruota Del Sol, the GP E3 and the prologue of le Tour then wearing the yellow jersey for 15 days.

Bernard Thevenet says that it was Post’s insistence on defending his protege’s maillot that won him the Frenchman the race.

Post burned up the team in defence of the jersey, leaving their real GC man, Hennie Kuiper exposed and unable to handle Thevenet and his well drilled Peugeot squad when the real show down in the mountains came.

But Thurau was pure class, I remember seeing him in a Tour time trial in the 80’s, his Hitachi skinsuit was sleeveless, his blonde curls spilled out from below his aero crash hat as he flowed by, back flat, smooth as silk.

And now?

His dad is a paraplegic and needs specialist care in a home; the insurance company has been paying for the care home for the last year.

But the rub is that the home hasn’t seen any money and is going to evict Thurau senior.

The cash?

It went into Didi’s pocket; this is a man who used to drive to the Sixes in his Ferrari – all very sad.

He lives in Switzerland now, near Zürich and to them he’s a ‘Schlitzohr,’ roughly translated; ‘a bit of a monkey.‘

As Franco says; ‘the colour has faded from his golden jersey!‘

There were the usual presentations; the number of champions they have on the track is a big deal for the promoters – World and European that is, National champions are common or garden.

The rolling presentation lets those who haven’t bothered to train that day (no names!) the chance to loosen stiff legs.

A lady with blue hair treated us to not a bad little rock set and then it was time for the rubber to meet the piste.

But not before Big Bob Bartko came-a-calling – just to pee off the organisers, no doubt.

He doesn’t look so imposing with his civilian clothes on – but I guess that’s the thing with Terminators, they’re built to look human.

The first chase came and went, that’s potato with a capital ‘P’ – but that said there were riders hurting up on those boards.

Martyn Frank, Sky soigneur and part of ‘Team Kris’ for Copenhagen came to call with four of his buddies, the rallying call appeared to be; ‘who cares what it is – just drink it!‘

Leigh Howard came by to pinch our wine gums, I never fail to be amazed by how wee and skinny he and Cam Meyer are – but yet they’re so strong.

The sprinters are big men, big legs, big egos, but the crowd adore them and the cheers during the flying laps are louder than for the chases.

Franco and Roger Kluge mingle as the sprinters do their thing and the show ‘gets down on it.’

The ‘big’ chase, Martyn and his buddies reappear and I talk the security guy into letting them in.

Erik Zabel is here too but I don’t take pictures, I’m too busy keeping an eye on Martyn’s team who are all ‘merry’ and perhaps prone to forget that the string is topping 50 kph most of the time.

The chase?

Joerg the mechanic summed it up; ‘F**king nothing, man!’

And it was poor, the crowd sat quietly as the field formed an orderly line astern – attacks were few and the finale was flat.

But like I said the other day, I think the field should be bigger – at least 20 teams, 16 are lost on the pine prairie of Berlin.

Next up are the stayers, more noise, difficult to keep track of it all, but the crowd love it.

I watched the finishing sprint – crazy, revving out on 66 chain rings.

The sprint series came and went, and so did Silvan and Franco – their programme ‘kaput’ for the night because the 1,000 metre time trial was binned in the interest of getting the evening back in line with the time table.

But Brad and Jackie had the last Derny, well after 01:00 am – damn!

When I was a Six Day fan, rather than a pee-pail-emptier, I used to like the Dernys, but now they don’t even register.

And don’t believe the interviews about harmony between Derny driver and rider – most of them seem to have the objective of making the ride as tough as possible for the man in their slipstream.

‘Just Another Tequila Sunrise‘ – early finish tomorrow but the guys have to be on the track at 11:55 am – ouch!

Berlin Six Day - Results from Day Three