INTRO :: DAILY REPORTS :: STAYERS & PACERS :: THE RIDERS :: PHOTOS

THE PACERS
by Steve Penny, Watford, 01/02/2006, 23:30p.m.

The Stayers

The Berlin Six has a tradition, only know shared in Dortmund, of having Stayer Racing. This style of racing along with Derny and other Motor-Paced racing was a lot more common in the 50's, 60's and 70's with World Championship's being held for both amateur and professional riders.

Today Stayer racing is very much a specialist side of cycling with very little publicity or media attention. During the Berlin Sechstagerennen I caught up with one of the sports top riders, local favourite and 9 time winner in Berlin Carsten Podlesch.

Carsten's family are involved in the pacing side of the sport in fact his Uncle Karsten Podlesch was one of the Motor Pacers here in Berlin, so it was a normal thing for him to become involved. Although the Berlin and Dortmund Six are good opportunities for Stayers to perform in front of big crowds the scene does in fact consist of a lot of races in (mainly) Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. Carsten races at between 30 or 40 Stayer meeting during the summer months and is fully professional. He has also spent time on the Road with Team Weisenhof but now races for an individual sponsor, he says this is general way of things for Stayers. He does also take part in smaller road and criterium races around Germany when he is not behind the Motors.

The Stayer meetings are usually on bigger outdoor tracks and all races are run for prize money as well as a percentage of gate receipts. This along with the sponsorship fee makes Carsten think that he can make a better living and race more than a 'normal' endurance track specialist, although he added that the sport gets no national funding as Olympic cycling disciplines do.

The Stayer bikes are very different from other track bikes with a 24" front wheel and the riders requiring extra saddle support (see picture) as they ride in a very forward and upright position. All the frames are still made from Steel and the riders push a massive 66 x 16 gear on a 250 metre track and as much as 68 x 14 on the bigger outdoor tracks. Despite the gears turned all of the Stayer riders are surprisingly slight in stature.

Carsten finished off the Six day with his 9th win in 10 attempts at the Berlin Velodrome and clearly enjoyed the support of 'his public' and managing to take centre stage for 20 minutes Six Nights a year, roll on 2007!!!

 

The Pacers

One of the most recognisable Motor Pacers is Dutchman Bruno Walrave. Bruno received a special award in Berlin to commemorate his 50 years pacing riders in all areas of motor pacing. He can be seen at all the winter Sixes doing battle in the Derny racing and also has a full time living with Stayers in Holland, Belgium and Germany.

Bruno has paced many of the greats of the sport who in bygone days raced in all forms of cycling from tours to sixes to derny paced road races such as Paris-Bordeux. He also paced many riders, including Carsten Podlesch, to World Stayer / Motor Paced Championships before they were abolished. He was also responsible in the early seventies for challenging the establishment and getting full workers rights, freedom of contract etc for cyclists and pacers alike, this involved pacers to pace riders of a different nationality at World Championships. He says that he is still unpopular in some circles for this.

Bruno Walrave seemed a very amiable man and said he has no plans to retire and why would doing what you love for 50 years and still going strong can't be a bad way to make a living, can it?

One last note whilst speaking of pacers, the hero of the Gent Six Derny races Joop Ziljaard had a heart attack late last year. I asked Bruno how he was and the news was that that he is recovering and hopes to come back to racing. Before that can happen though Joop has been told he needs to lose a lot of weight and make some serious lifestyle changes. We wish him well and hope to see him once again flying around 'Het Kuipke' urging his rider on.