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REPORTS - DAY 4 :: DAY 5
by Steve Penny, in Berlin

Day #6: Tuesday, January 31th
Slippens & Stam Have the Edge in Close Berlin Finish

The last night of the Berliner Sechstagerennen saw the final result come down to the very last sprint in front of a packed house of 11,000 plus in the Landsberger Allee Velodrome. With only a few points added here and there Marvulli/Villa started the 60 minute final madison still just 4 points ahead of Slippens/Stam with Fulst/Lampater still well placed just a handful of points back.

Almost straight away these top 3 teams plus the other 3 (Gilmore/Kiesse, Kappes/Biekirch & Aldag/Bartko) who are just 1 lap in arrears went off in 2's or 3's and got a lap but this provided little change to the standings. At various times Aldag/Bartko try and get that lap back to stand any chance in the final but its clear that Aldag just doesn't have the strength and power with which he is normally associated. On more than one occasion in the last couple of chases Bartko has got a gap but Aldag can't extend the advantage and gets pulled back. He his heavily bandaged having taken a heavy bang on his knee in a crash on Friday. This along with the fact he was ill and missed his start in Bremen shows he just doesn't have the condition or fitness to really challenge over such a hard six days. It is in fact a testament to his heart and determination that they have stayed in touch with the leaders, although you have too feel for Robert Bartko who is clearly in very good form here in Berlin.

With about 25 minutes to go in the final Marvulli/Villa look to be under pressure usually having to chase or react to moves rather than instigating them, Slippens/Stam however look strong. Coming into the final 50 laps with 4 bonus sprints every 10 laps, the top of the leader board remains as it was at the start of the race. In the first sprint Slippens outsprints Villa to draw level for the overall lead, in the second sprint Slippens beats Marvulli to take the lead by 4 6 points with 2 bonus' plus the final sprint to come. With 27 laps to go Fulst/Lampater launch a big attack as their only chance of the wins will be by getting a lap. Between them they don't have the speed to challenge Slippens or Marvulli for points. Roared and whistled on by the Berlin public they get 100 metres but no more than that and are clawed back in just before the 3rd sprint which Marvulli takes ahead of Slippens, to again level things up top of the leader board. In the 4th and final bonus sprint Slippens again gets it from Marvulli to again give the Dutch boys the lead but the Swiss/Italian combination can still get the win if they take the final sprint. With 250 to go Marvulli leads it out but Slippens comes around him in the final straight to give him and Stam their 3rd win from four Six Days in 2006.

FINAL RESULTS:
Slippens/Stam 221 pts
Marvulli/Villa 217 pts
Fulst/Lampater 181 pts

1 lap behind
Gilmore/Kiesse 167 pts
Kappes/Biekirch 140 pts
Aldag/Bartko 128pts

4 laps behind
Betschart/Schep 85 pts

5 laps behind
Bengsch/Weispfennig 115 pts

6 laps behind
Madsen/Hester 101 pts
Aeschbach/Grassman 71 pts

The rest are 18 plus laps back :: Click here for full results from Cyclingnews.com

Your correspondent was proved wrong in his preview because I suggested Slippens/Stam may not be motivated after earlier wins and that they had never won on a track over 200 metres long!!! Also a word on Marvulli/Villa... I also suggested Marvulli may not have the stamina for a hard fought six days in Germany but if anything he was the stronger of the two. The Berlin Six has fewer races in the programme as the points totals prove and so perhaps Franco was able to conserve some of the energy he normally uses getting points everywhere. I am also inclined to think that with Risi missing and Aldag not 100% they were able to impose themselves on the race more than usual. Fulst/Lampater generally went very well and it showed, as I suggested, that the 250 metre track suits them well, however the fact the neither rider really has a sprint was the difference as they could not challenge in the fast and furious last 50 laps and add points to their total.

In the Press Conference I asked them about the 'bigger track' win and Slippens said that "yes they were aware of that fact and that was part of the incentive", and of course they are in "good form and morale is excellent following Rotterdam & Bremen". He also said that "Berlin is such a big Six Day with a great public that also played a part".

As the main sponsor Schultheiss' team Aldag/Bartko also attended the press conference.

Sprinters:

The sprinter cup was won by man mountain Soren Lausberg in his farewell appearance here in his hometown Berlin. Up and coming 18 year old Maximilian Levy won the Kerien and could be one to watch in the coming years, Germany keeps bringing through good sprinters.

Final standing:
1. Soren Lausberg
2. Rene Wolf
3. Stefan Nimke

The final Stayer race saw Carsten Podlesch get the win and the overall Esso Stayer GP win, it was his 9th overall win in the competition in 10 Sechsagerennens at the Landsberger Allee Velodrome.

Final Standing:
1. Carsten Podlesch
2. Peter Jorg
3. Giuseppe Artenzi>

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Day #5: Monday, January 30th
Penny drops in on Berliner Tage

Monday night is known as Berliner Tage (day) and saw another night of tough Madison racing that saw the overall result still very much within the grasp of six teams.

Tonight the first chase is over 30 minutes and as ever teams traded laps and attacks from the off with no quarter given or taken. With 7 minutes of racing to go Aldag & Bartko tried to rip the field apart but perhaps still feeling the effects of crashes on Friday were unable to get away following a strong chase by Gilmore/Kiesse. However, as soon as they were caught, Slippens/Stam made a classic counter followed by Marvulli/Villa, a surprising Betschart/Schep and lastly Gilmore/Kiesse. They all got the lap with 6 to go but only 3 teams carried on to the front, Betschart/Schep could only sit in the bunch. In the Sprint Slippens beat Villa by half a bike, this win saw them take the overall lead on points from Fulst/Lampater.

In the later 45 minute chase, the battle resumed and again Aldag/Bartko tried in the last 5 minutes, but were once again short of the necessary power, to get away from there rivals. Fulst/Lamapter went on the attack and with whistles screaching in our ears appeared to have enough gap to win the race but Marvulli went into overdrive and caught and passed Lamapter in the home straight for the win by a clear 5 metres.

This resulted in yet another change at the top the standings being:

Marvulli/Villa   177 pts
Slippens/Stam   173 pts
Fulst/Lampater   163 pts

1 lap behind
Gilmore/Kiesse  134 pts
Kappes/Biekirch  122 pts
Aldag/Bartko  110pts

2 laps behind
Betschart/Schep  81 pts

The Sprinters went faster in the flying lap, Soren Lausberg again winning but in 13.238 tonight. Stefan Nimke, usually a Kilo rider won the match sprints and Frenchman Mickael Bourgian won the Keirin.

The Stayers again saw a surprise with Timo Shulz holding off the field in a fast last 3 laps. Carsten Podlesch (Berlin) and Peter Jorg (Swiss) were trying so hard both actually blew up and lost contact with their pacers in the final 250 metres.

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Day #4: Sunday, January 29th
No Lazy Sunday in Landsberger Allee Velodrome

Going in the Family / Kinder Tage (Children's / Family Day) things were close but Aldag & Bartko had both had crashes, so were not atop of the board, as might have been expected.

Sunday afternoon at the Berliner Sechstarennen saw an afternoon of hard Madison racing finish with the top teams still locked very close together and Tuesdays final outcome more difficult to predict than your correspondent initially thought!!!

The Berlin Six has its main focus on the two daily Madisons, there are a lot more breaks in racing than in Gent and so the top teams seem to conserve energy in the other races, only going full throttle in the chases.

The first 45 minute chase of the day was no exception with six or seven teams gaining laps but no team gaining a crucial lap. In the last 10 minutes however, Fulst/Lampater and Kiesse gained a lap with just 6 laps remaining. In the final 3 laps Kiesse took it on and went on the attack, not quite sure why though, as I assumed they would be stronger in the sprint. Fulst chased hard and on the final lap Lampater outsprinted Gilmore for the victory to roars of approval from the home crowd. At the end of the Madson not only had Fulst/Lampater won the chase but were now overall leaders by 1 lap.

The second Madison was run over 30 minutes and again was fast and furious. However, perhaps tired from the earlier exersions, no one seemed to have the edge to get the crucial lap. With 16 laps remaining Aldag and Kappes went off the front and whistled on by 12,000 plus fans, got the lap just 4 from home. They then went to the front and in a shoulder to shoulder sprint Bartko pipped Biekirch by inches for the win. It was important for both teams as they had fallen 2 laps behind the overall leaders and 1 lap behind the the other teams and so ended the day in the group of teams 1 lap in arrears. Thus at the eindstand of Sundays racing the leader board read:

Fulst/Lampater   138 points

1 lap behind
Slippens/Stam  138 points
Marvulli/Villa  135 pts
Gilmore/Kiesse  115 pts
Kappes/Biekirch  100 pts
Aldag/Bartko  93pts

2 laps behind
Betschart/Schep  73 pts

the next teams all 4 laps or many more, so out of the running.

The Sprinters as ever put on a show for the crowd although at this time of year and objectives being focused on Worlds success they are perhaps not in top shape. One guy who seems to be though is local boy Soren Lausberg in his last ever appearance here before retirement. He clocked the fastest time of the day (13.55) in the flying lap to take the applause.

The Stayers provided a surprise, as in recent years these races have been dominated by Carsten Podlesch (Berlin), Jan Richter (Cottbus) and Peter Jorg (Swiss). Today saw Swiss/Italian Artenzi take the bouquet and despite not being the local boy was, in true Berliner Sechstagerennen style, still cheered on by the crowd.