VeloVeritas

Daniel Holloway – “it would be cool if I could start putting my hands back in the air”(0)

Californian Daniel Holloway, aka ‘Hollywood’ was a surprise addition to the ranks of Raleigh, this season.

Known as a man who likes to have fun, his jokes and vast array of “Oakleys for every occasion” disguise the fact that the 24-year old is a quality athlete.

Kenny De Ketele – “I need goals to aim for”(0)

Dreams, we all have them, but most of us don’t realise them. When Kenny De Ketele was a boy, he’d go to the Kuipke velodrome in Gent to watch the Six Days and dream of riding and winning on the hallowed boards. And he’d look at the world champions in their sparkling white rainbow jerseys and dream of the day when he could pull one over his head.

But unlike most of us, Kenny has realised his dreams.

Ryan Oelkers – “I wouldn’t have changed a thing”(0)

With the World Track Championships only a few weeks away, we thought we’d talk to some top riders who you may know not much about, guys with interesting stories to tell, our “left-field’ stars.

Cleveland, Ohio, 1949: and when Charles Bergna and Cecil Yates hoisted their bouquets over their heads little did they know that it would be more than 50 years before another US pairing would do the same thing. It was Bergna’s third win in Cleveland, his final career total was five wins; Yates was more prolific with 16 wins-but it was te end of the Golden Age for US Six Day riders. It was Moscow in 2002 before the Stars and Stripes would fly for both riders at the end of a Six Day race-for 2000 Olympic sprint champion Marty Nothstein and our left-fielder, Ryan Oelkers.

Charline Joiner – Pushing Past the Pain Barrier(0)

VeloVeritas spoke recently to Commonwealth Games Team Sprint Silver Medallist Charline Joiner after her ride at the Rotterdam Six Day.

Dirk Dekeyser – Life as a Bike Mechanic(2)

Who makes sure the wheels turn smoothly during a six day race? The mechanics are the men who change the gears, stick on the tyres, endlessly polish the paintwork and pick up the pieces after crashes.

They arrive first to build the bikes up and leave last after having stripped the bikes down for transit. What makes a man want to roam Europe, often driving a thousand kilometres through the night to get to the next race – or to get home? We spoke to circuit spanner man, Dirk Dekeyser at the Grenoble Six.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – John’s Mega Photo Album(0)

Fietsenphotography’s John Young has supplied us with lots of great images from the Six Day season this winter, and it’s been great to focus on some racing, rather than all the other stories which mire the sport’s image.

John’s photos have illustrated our recent Diary pieces from Denmark, but we have lots left that we haven’t used, we’re sure you’ll enjoy looking through them to get the flavour of the final Six of the season.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Six(0)

The camper, 10:23 Wednesday morning, and it’s all over.

The cabins are bare; Dirk is in his camper headed for Drongen; Jackie and his dad have been safely deposited at the airport and we’re heading into Copenhagen for a little bit of R & R before we get the plane home.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Five(0)

It’s another big madison tonight; 75 kilometres/300 laps, but with a ‘twist’-it’s a handicap. Bartko/Lampater, Stam/Stroetinga and Alex/Michael give away six laps to Jackie/Schröder-with the rest of the field somewhere in between.

The final laps count for the overall so there’s no messing; if a big team doesn’t pull the laps back then they’re lost. Really, all that goes before the handicap is just to whet the appetite-there are a lot of nervous cyclists in the cabins.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Four(0)

Sprints to start and Hazel Dean thumps out, quality high energy from the 80′s ‘Searchin’-quality. Followed by ‘Livin in America’ from the late, great James Brown-we’re in luck, tonight. And then ‘Cara Mia’ to start the 75 lap chase-I never get tired of that tune.

The two chases weren’t bad at all-for a Sunday, that is.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Three(1)

Danny Clark; in a world where the word ‘legend’ is used too often, it’s wholly appropriate in the case of the Australian.

He holds the record for the number of six day starts at 236 and he’s second in the all time winner ranks with 74-unsurprisingly he’s ‘double Recordman’ here at Copenhagen with eight wins off 21 starts. He’s here driving the Derny (and singing!) but clocks up an hour plus on the track every day-he looks better now than he did 20 years ago.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Two(0)

‘Rivers of Babylon’ by the Melodians, now there’s a tune to fold jerseys by-until the guy in the cabin next door hops on his rollers, that is. And there was me looking for some peace on a Saturday morning-a split day today with afternoon and evening sessions.

We don’t like double sessions, neither do the riders, but like the song says; ‘That’s just the way it is.’ Last night wasn’t a bad one . . .

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day One(0)

The gun fires, the bongos rattle, ‘Cara Mia’ blasts, the rattle of chains and rumble of rubber on wood builds and the chase which kicks off the 50th Six Days of Copenhagen is up and running. But it’s not any old chase, since I first walked up the steps from the tunnel when we arrived here on Wednesday afternoon the lap board has been displaying a short but grim message-400.

That’s 400 laps at 250 metres for each lap; I’ll help with the arithmetic-100 kilometres.

Jack Simes – American Track and Six Day Legend(4)

Daniel Holloway and Colby Pearce are regulars on the Six Day scene; US riders win classics and Grand Tours, there are US Pro Tour teams.

It was different in 1970; with not one US rider holding a professional licence-enter Jack Simes.

We spoke to the man who was the first US rider to turn a pedal on the Six Day tracks for nearly 20 years and who hopes to bring the sport back to its spiritual home in the USA.

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Six(0)

The line of taxi lights stretches back into the darkness like a string of pearls, it’s beautiful in an a big city kind of a way – it could be a scene from a Woody Allen film; but it’s not Manhattan, it’s Berlin at 01:40 am.

The beige Merc cabs get to drive down to the underground Velodrom entrance to pick up ViPs, meanwhile the support staff – that’s us – have to hi-jack a supermarket trolley and use the lift to take our stuff up to the camper.