November 2005
On Yer Bike
Don't miss one of Munich's most thrilling sporting events
Strung out like ducks on a living-room wall, three cyclists are poised on the lip of the steep-banked aerodrome. Seconds tick by. Audience anticipation mounts, as the rhythmic handclapping intensifies. Suddenly, one of the sprinters breaks away and—hotly pursued—whips around the track in a blaze of pedals heading for the line. Bells ring, whistles screech and the crowd roars approval.
Welcome to the Munich Six-Day Race, one of the premier annual track cycling meetings and a must-see event on the city’s social calendar. Mixing the atmosphere of a mini Oktoberfest with that of a trade fair, the event features some of the world’s best cyclists competing in one of the most challenging endurance sports in the world.
The rich, famous and well connected gather at the restaurant inside the track perimeter, where they can see and be seen—the steel-legged, sweaty riders pass only meters from their tables. Cycling fans sit on the outer raised banks, where they can watch the teams’ strategic moves, while those seeking other entertainment gather in the massive nightclub in the depths of the stadium. The culinary offerings are also impressive. International dishes, ranging from crêpes to sushi, are designed to satisfy even the hungriest bike enthusiast.
Staged at the Olympiahalle and now in its 42nd year, the Munich Six-Day Race is one of the most famous annual races in Europe. Few people attending pretend to understand the rules, but no one can fail to be affected by the adrenalin-charged efforts of the riders as they hurtle around the 200-meter track on fixed-wheel bikes—without brakes!
The event pits 14 pairs of riders against each other in a race staged over six nights. The 28 cyclists wend their way through confined space with unnerving maneuvers. While both riders in a pair are usually on the track together, only one of them is “active” at any one time. The riders take it in turn to race, hand-slinging each other back into the action as they pass. It makes for spectacular, fast-paced racing with average speeds in excess of 55 km/h.
The whole thing is made more confusing by a series of special events held in the breaks. These include sprints and the curious Derny, when a motorized pacing bike takes to the track. However, the main event is the team race and, in a nutshell, the winning team is the one that completes the most laps over the six days.
The Munich Six-Day Race is also famous for a fair bit of cheesy atmosphere. A band in the central area provides tempo for the riders, while guest stars have in the past included such cult kitsch entertainers as Bony M, David Hasselhof and Lou Bega.
However, for true cycling fans, the emphasis is firmly placed on the racing and the Munich event always attracts some of the sport’s biggest names. In the past, for example, such noted riders as Danny Clark (Aus), Jens Feidler (Ger), Urs Freuler (Swi), Eddie Merckx (Bel) and Erik Zabel (Ger) have competed here.
Already named in the line-up for this year’s event, which takes place this month, are last year’s victors Scott McGrory (Aus) and Matthew Gilmore (Bel), for whom the race is a family tradition. Indeed, Gilmore was only two years old when his Australian father, Graeme, won the event with local legend Sigi Renz in 1974. Twenty-eight years later, in 2002, Gilmore carried on the family tradition by achieving his first victory in the race. His second victory came two years later, with McGrory, in 2004.
“I always especially look forward to the Munich Six-Day,” says Gilmore. “It is something special to ride in the Olympiahalle and, of course, we [the Gilmore family] have a history of winning there.”
This year Gilmore and McGrory will be defending their title against a high-class field that includes the perennial crowd favorites and six-time champions Bruno Risi and Kurt Betschart. Known as the “Alpenexpress,” the Swiss pair is the current record holder in six-day racing, with 36 victories altogether. Sprinters lined up to take part in the 2005 event include current world champion René Wolff (Ger), five-time junior world champion Maximilian Levy (Ger) and the 2004 world champion Theo Bos (Holl).
This year’s Munich Six-Day race will be held November 10–15. Tickets cost between € 10 and € 20, or between € 20 and € 40 on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday nights. If the final night is as thrilling as 2004, when the three best teams of Kappes/Beikirch, Risi/Betschart and Gilmore/ McGrory went down to the wire, then it will be money well spent.
