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98th Edition of the Berliner Sechstagerennen - Familientag - Day 4

by Steve Penny
British 6-Day Correspondent
Berlin
25 January 2009

Family Day in Berlin

Sunday in Berlin is, as it is at all German Sixes, the traditional Family Day (Familientag). This tradition is popular with the fans but maybe not so with the riders who after a late night finish on Saturday, the riders must be back on the track at noon to race and entertain another big but somewhat younger audience. The overall standings changed hands towards the end of a hard fought Golden Night and the home favourites Zabel and Bartko held the top spot with Risi / Marvulli close behind. The 4th day of the Six should see the top teams press on, experience and endurance normally being crucial over the six days much like a stage race on the road. But this Six Day seems to be throwing up surprises, so there is no guarantee that this formula will apply.

Sunday Part I

The opening exchange in the Points Race sees most teams add a couple of points to there overnight totals. A Derny race is also early on the programme and offers a crowd pleasing win for Zabel / Bartko.

It is the 45 minute Madison, starting at 13:15, that would be foremost in the riders minds though and as you’d expect there was not much let up in the pace. The main players came to the forefront as you’d expect, but Zabel / Bartko actually lost a lap to their big rivals Risi / Marvulli and the Belgian / German pairing of De Ketele / Kluge. With about 30 laps to go Stam and the fit again Schep joined Risi / Marvulli and De Ketele / Kluge in taking a lap on the other top 8 teams. The Dutch pair didn’t contest the sprint but will be happy to be back in the thick of the action and close to a bonus lap that will see then at 2 laps in arrears. So with the crowd blowing there whistles to a deafening pitch it was left to Bruno Risi, in his 177th Six Day start, to out sprint De Ketele, 16 years his junior, by less than half a wheel. These two teams now hold a clear lap lead, De Ketele is proving that in the future he should be riding at more Sixes with strong and competitive partners. Along with Zabel / Bartko at 1 lap in this Madison were Roberts / Lampater, Rasmussen / Morkov and Bengsch / Kalz, the later pair understandably starting to feel the pace a bit as they are falling behind on points. Also back in the fray after a bout of sickness was Alex Aeschbach, teamed with Christian Lademann they preserved a place in the top 6 also by finishing at 1 lap behind but are now 2 back overall.

After a short break for the days ‘Show time’ and the sprinters competition, the Six Day riders will be back on the track for a Team Elimination race followed by a 30 minute Madison, that could see the teams losing out here, coming straight back.

Sunday Part II

With the 2nd. Madison coming so soon after the break, the top teams let the lesser lights contest the Team Elimination. It was Henning Bommel, with Fabian Schaar, taking it from Tino Thomel, with Christian Grasmann, in an all German sprint. The 2nd. Madison is the last long hard race until the Six Day resumes on Monday Night, only a time trial (TT) and points race follows today, which gives the riders over 24 hours to get complete rest. Despite this, the main players seemed content to take a back seat, and coming into the last 20 laps, 4 teams held a 1 lap advantage. The two fallers from last night Luke Roberts, with Leif Lampater, and Jens-Erik Madsen, with Marc Hester, made the pace over the last couple of laps, but it was Leif Lampater who shot away winning with over 5 bike lengths to spare from the Danish pair. Lampater who has raced a lot this winter with Erik Zabel enjoyed his moment, despite staying close the leaders, he and Roberts have not really been able to contend in the big chases. The other two teams who finished a lap ahead were Mohs / Ciccone and Muller / Siedler. The 23 year old Erik Mohs had a decent winter season last year but has not ridden at many Sixes this year. He was pencilled in to ride with Andreas Beikirch. In that team, Mohs would have expected to be in the mix, rather than 9 laps behind with late replacement Italian Ciccone.

I spoke to Alex Aeschbach who had been absent on Saturday. He told me that many of the riders including De Ketele and Erik Zabel himself have a stomach bug. This explains why it has been a fairly low key day for the six time Tour green jersey winner. Alex himself had the bug so badly, that he was sent home to bed yesterday by the race Doctor. This as much as anything could be the reason that the race is still so close overall, as many riders will be feeling short of power in their legs.

The ‘Otto Ziege’ Points race was pretty much the last race on the on the program, with the big guns skipping the 1,000 metre TT, probably due to sickness. The race is in honour of Otto Ziege, the former sports director of the Berlin Six, who in his early 80's. Otto is still loved by the Berlin cycling public, having ridden (although never won the Berlin Six) many times himself after World War II. The prize was presented by the man himself, going to Bengsch / Kalz, who gained some much needed points climbing back up the table.

Leaders at the close on Sunday:

1. Risi / Marvulli 		169 points
2. Kluge / De Ketele		155	

At 1 lap:
3. Bengsch / Kalz		162
4. Rasmussen / Morkov	160
5. Zabel / Bartko		159

At 2 Laps:
6. Roberts / Lampater		114
7. Lademann / Aeschach	  81

At 3 Laps:
8. Stam / Schep		  99

At 7 laps:
9. Hester / Madsen		  59

At 8 Laps:
10. Muller / Siedler		  50
11. Ciccone / Mohs		  29

At 11 Laps:
12. Grasmann / Thomel	  68
13. Konig / Barth		  41

At 12 Laps:
14. Musiol / Frey		  71
15. Bommel / Schaar		  66

At 15 Laps:
16. Kadlec / Zabka		  22

At 16 Laps:
17. Ratajczyk / Lazar		  31

At 17 Laps:
18. Graf / Matzka		  31