Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Bremen Six Day 2025 – Day One

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HomeRaceSix DaysBremen Six Day 2025 - Day One

Over the stadium sound system Sabrina Carpenter is singing about “Paris” but we’re here in the northern German city of Bremen, a major cultural and economic hub and the country’s 11th largest city because the Bremen Six Day 2025 is now underway and we have a job to do.

We’ve actually been at the track for a couple of days after driving up in the camper van from Düsseldorf where I flew into from Scotland to meet up with Kris.

We’ve spent the time preparing everything for our riders; the trackside cabins and the two rooms (confusingly also referred to as cabins) upstairs that we use as a base when not racing, to relax in, have a cuppa, get ours’ and the riders’ equipment organised, the guys can leave tracksuits and jackets in here, and have a shower and a massage. We also sorted out a fridge in the room for the water, cola, apple juice and protein shakes as well as some comfy sofas.

Bremen Six Day 2025
The huge ÖVB Arena is ready for the Bremen Six Day 2025. Photo©Martin Williamson

As we were first of the support teams to arrive here yesterday we got the pick of the trackside cabins. The three cabins facing the crowds are reserved for the top teams so the crowd can see them, and we choose three inner cabins for our guys which don’t have ‘passing traffic’, nicely tucked out the way under the VIP podium.

And now the trackside cabins are as ready as we can make them; these little wooden bunkers, reminiscent of a coal-face operation are now equipped with cushions, pillows, blankets and towels, sports drinks, gels, wine gums, tissues, labelled mugs for each rider for the tea – and honey to go in it, baby wipes, a good stock of bottles of water, cologne and towelling mitts for washing the riders down after a race, lens cleaner for the sunglasses, little buckets with lids for when the riders need to answer the call of nature and don’t have time to leave the track, and on and on goes the list…

Bremen Six Day 2025
Our three trackside cabins, underneath the VIP platform. You can see the trusty tumble dryer in place and ready to go. Photo©Martin Williamson

Oh, and we’ve setup our tumble dryer to get the tricots (lightweight race jerseys supplied by the organisers) dry during the sessions. The riders get a long sleeved jersey to stott-around in and use for warming-up, and three race jerseys each which they use (and we dry) alternately through the races, before they’re all washed at the end of each day along with shorts, socks, T-shirts and mitts…

Things have changed a lot recently with the event and the infrastructure, certainly since Gary Wiggins here won in 1985; track safety has been tightened significantly; there’s now a safety wall around the inside of the track, in previous years at turns one and two where our cabins are, the riders were racing close to parked bikes and equipment – very dangerous.

Bremen Six Day 2025
Photo©Martin Williamson

Despite being built over just the last few days to fit into the hall, with long-ish straights and tight bends, the track is superb, improved in a number of ways from previous versions; the inside wall now covers the entire infield with only one in/out configuration just after the finish line, and the balustrade is in fact higher than the UCI specifications demand following some terrible crashes (in London, both concerning riders on Hope machines, strangely).

It’s very solid too, thick boards run top-to-bottom and the supporting trusses are now fabricated in steel, replacing the wooden version of previous editions, resulting in a track that rides very fast – so fast in fact that the organisers have placed restrictions on gearing for some events.

Bremen Six Day 2025
Photo©Martin Williamson

We have two and half teams this year, five riders, who all arrive this afternoon and get settled in.

Bremen Six Day 2025
Team #4 is presented to the crowd; Tobias Müller and Lukas Rüegg. Photo©Martin Williamson

Team #4 consists of our young German Tobias Müller, the National Team Pursuit Champion is only 20 years old and has been snapped up by Intermarché-Wanty’s development team Wanty-Nippo-ReUz this season, after a terrific road season last year which included 3rd place in Paris-Troyes.

He’s partnered with experienced Swiss Points Race Champion Lukas Rüegg, 3rd in the European Championship Team Pursuit, whose palmarès also boasts strong rides on the road such as 2nd overall in Flèche du Sud in ’24.

Bremen Six Day 2025
Matyáš Koblížek and Jan Voneš are presented. Photo©Martin Williamson

Our other full team, Team #5 is an all-Czeck affair. Junior European Champion and Junior Worlds bronze medalist in the Elimination Matyáš Koblížek, together with the Elimination and Scratch Race Champion Jan Voneš, who’s also been three times the National Madison and Team Pursuit Champion.

On paper these guys looked to be a threat but Matyáš was a late replacement for Jan’s original partner and a previous rider of ours, Denis Rugovac, who had earlier in the week suffered broken limbs in a bad car crash, whilst Jan was at the race somewhat lacking in preparation having been required recently to, as befits a soldier in the Czech army, spend a couple of months doing soldierly things.

Our other rider is also Czech, Adam Křenek, 7th in the World Championships Elimination last year, he proved once again he can ride a great De’il as we call it in Scotland (local dialect for ‘the Devil takes the hindmost’) when he absolutely storms the first race of the evening, popping quality World Tour riders like previous Bremen winner and Tour de France stage winner Nils Politt and Olympic Omnium Champion Elia Viviani out the race.

So for the first time in this race I get to scuttle round to the presentation on the finish line with Adam’s towel but not quite being into the swing of things yet, I forget to ask him to take his helmet and glasses off for the photos. There’s a winner’s spicy sausage in that sacking bag.

Our rider Adam Křenek won the first race on the first day, with Mario Roggow (l) and Erik Weispfennig (r). Photo©Martin Williamson

I heard when I got back to the cabin that I’d missed Tobias getting a ‘wee row’ from the German double World and twice European Madison Champion Theo Reinhardt. It’s not Tobias’ first Six Day but ‘every day’s a school day’ and he just shrugs, taking the ‘words of advice’ on board.

As is tradition at Bremen, the 100 lap Chase (or ‘Great Hunt‘ if translated from the programme literally) is held early in the session and it soon becomes obvious the big teams are wanting to assert themselves on the rest of the field – the race is conducted at a furious pace with plenty of attacking and lap gains.