When do the boys at VeloVeritas stop thinking about the Six Days? When we’re sleeping; but sometimes we dream about them... A man who we've had the pleasure to work with and who impressed us with his speed and spirit is America's Guy East – and he’s crazier than us about the Sixes. We thought we’d give him a shout and see how he’s coping with a world of sunshine, no Euro pop, real food and proper toilets.

Having had Michael Mørkøv’s take on de Ronde, we thought we’d chat to a man a bit closer to home about his experiences in what is at least in the top three of the world’s single day races – along with Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. The Tour of Flanders was one of the few races left on Russell Downing’s ‘to do’ list – but now he can wear the T-shirt.

The work ethic it takes to be reach and remain on the Australian National Squad is well known to the ‘Euros.’ The latest young man to take note of is Queenslander, Jordan Kerby; in his short career he’s achieved much – including two world titles. VeloVeritas spoke to the 20 year-old as his career began with Danish Continental squad Christina Watches-Onfone.

We thought it would be good to speak to a man who was in the thick of the action at the Tour of Flanders last Sunday, across those cruel cobbles and over the brutal bergs. Step forward Saxo-Tinkoff’s Michael Mørkøv; team pursuit flyer, Six Day star, polka dot jersey wearer in the Tour de France, and Classics escape artist.

For 2013 the 29 year-old decided to go back to the drawing board; train using the methods which worked so well for 2009 and join a team where the ratio of chiefs to Indians suited his perception of how a team should be built. The surprise for observers came in the team he chose – new Swiss Pro Continental squad, IAM.

Scott Thwaites turned pro with Endura in 2010 on the strength of that title and exploded onto the British scene with a win in the hotly contested and highly sought after Lincoln GP in 2011. The rapid progress continued last year with a dazzling UK season; the high lights of which were the British Criterium Championship and the overall win in the Premier Calendar.

As the Pros battle it out across Flanders, the young men who aspire to do the same in the future are locking horns in another famous name from the history of warfare – Normandy. Le Tour de Normandie is one of the premier events on the calendar for men on the way up – Viatcheslav Ekimov, Thor Hushovd and Samuel Dumoulin are among the riders who have won the race.

It’s been a grim spring for pro bike racing; Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Nokere Koerse had to be cancelled due to foul weather and Sunday’s Milano-Sanremo was compromised by snow. One recent race featuring Alex Wetterhall which did go ahead despite savage climatic conditions was the UCI 1.1 196 kilometre Ronde van Drenthe in The Netherlands.

At VeloVeritas we pride ourselves on keeping an eye on who’s on the way up – but this gentleman caught us unawares. We should have spotted that stage win in the 2011 Tour de l’Avenir – there are no ‘soft’ stage wins in that race. So when 20 year-old Simon Yates took the rainbow jersey in the Worlds points race it shouldn’t really have been a surprise. But the man from Bury has been a World Champion before, with Dan McLay in the junior madison in 2010 – he was also silver medallist in the junior team pursuit that year.

The last time that VeloVeritas spoke to Irish trackman Martyn Irvine, the news was all good – he’d just won two silver medals in the Glasgow World Cup and signed a nice crisp contract with US Pro Continental squad, United Healthcare. And life just keeps improving for the Irishman; it can’t really get much better than a world title – unless you’ve already just taken a World’s silver medal minutes before you grabbed the rainbow jersey, that is.

Today is ‘D Day’ for Alex Rasmussen, will JV let him put pen to paper and welcome him back to the Garmin fold? Or will the man from Odense and his manager have to go back to the drawing board to get the talented Dane back in the peloton? The way the UCI has handled the case would be laughable, if it had not been so tragic for the versatile and likeable Dane.

Dave Bonner's career was ending when I was just getting into cycling, but his name was one which kept cropping up in Cycling Weekly in the early 70's and in the chats where the 'young boys' learned from the older guys in the club about cycling's rich history. He was a star on the track, in time trials and on the road; and 40 years after he quit the pro scene he’s still riding his beloved Condor in the mountains of Southern Spain. Back in 2010 Cycling Weekly even ran a feature about his five hour runs through the mountains of Andalucía – good going for a 70 year-old.

Dan Patten has been a regular blogger on our site over the years. Dan came late to cycling, a talented runner but a niggling injury saw him turn to the bike. His first race was in July 2006, it took him 10 races to get his first win. We’ve always respected his single mindedness in pursuing his ‘Flatlands Dream’ – but for 2013 it’s ‘all change’ for the man from Essex.

Naples seafront, May 2009 and in a few days QuickStep’s Kevin Seeldraeyers will be crowned best young rider in the Giro d’Italia. Dave Chapman and I chat to the slim, slight young man from the magnificently named Flemish town of Boom, his English is perfect and he’s on the way up.

Jonathan Bellis was one of British Cycling’s brightest lights - until a life threatening scooter crash on September 19th 2009 in his then home of Tuscany. The versatile man from the Isle of Man spent practically a year in hospital and even then had to return for another operation at the end of 2010. Prior to the accident it looked as if Bellis was headed for the very top.

I remember the first time I met Dan Fleeman; 2007 in the days before Twitter, The Shack, LanceGate, the slick marketing of the ‘Flanders Classics’ and the World Tour. Vik still used to go to pro races; before he was too badly scarred by the World Tour – the Tour of Beijing was the last nail in the coffin.

One of the more interesting transfers over the winter was that of Garmin’s US rider Tom Peterson to Dutch team Argos-Shimano. The 26 year-old from North Bend, Washington has been with Jonathan Vaughters’ outfit since the TiAA-CREF days back in 2006.

I wish I'd tried it; pals Dave, Ivan, Viktor, and our Editor Martin all did - save up your dough over the winter, take the ferry, doss in the cold little room in Gent. The ride out in the rain to the kermis, change in someone's parlour, the inevitable punctures and kickings, the phone call home from a payphone on Sunday night...

Despite my bemusement at the popularity of Sportives - as Vik says; 'you go out on your bike to get away from folk, not ride round with 500 others!' there's no denying their popularity. Rob Simpson is the man behind 'Velo Sportive' who organise participation in Sportives and will be promoting his first sportiv in April - we decided to reach out to him and seek enlightenment.

So there I was in Berlin and it's the ladies’ Six Day - well, three days, actually - and I hear one of the lasses waiting to go to the line speaking in a good Lancashire accent. Check the numbers, #7: Hannah Walker, GB.