Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Havik and Van Schip top the Copenhagen Three Day

But it's as much a show as a sporting event – did they really need to win by five laps?

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HomeDiariesHavik and Van Schip top the Copenhagen Three Day

From the very first chase there was little doubt about who was in charge of the Copenhagen Three Day 2020; Dutchmen Jan Van Schip and Yoeri Havik were the strongest men on the track.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

In the recent UCI World Cup in Milton, Canada Van Schip won the Omnium then teamed up with Havik to win the Madison – so we knew they were on form.

But a Six Day (or a Three Day) is as much a show as a sporting event – did they really need to win by five laps?

One lap on the last night would have provided more excitement but the pair obviously have “Rainbows over Berlin” in the forthcoming Worlds in mind and pushed themselves hard in every chase.

The Sunweb duo of Dane Casper Pedersen and big finishing Dutchman – yes, another one – Cees Bol were second at five laps albeit with a better points total, surprisingly beating home legend Michael Mørkøv who was paired with rising star Oliver Wulff.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

But our spies tell us though that the youngster was tired after a Six Day season paired with compatriot and one of a very few to have completed 100 Six Days, former Copenhagen Six winner Marc Hester.

Sadly, Marc was absent from the Copenhagen Three Day starting line-up this year.

* * *

DAY ONE

There’s the bongos… Paul Delicato’s unmistakable ‘Cara Mia’ marks the start of the first chase in the 2020 Copenhagen Six D – sorry, make that Three Days.

But as Franco Marvulli once said; ‘three days is much better than NO days.’ 

Despite the fact that it’s just a Three Day, the field isn’t the worst.

Copenhagen Three Day

Big Dutch World Points Champion, Jan Van Schip pairs with his Canada World Cup madison-winning partner, experienced compatriot, Yoeri Havik.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

Our rider, Polish former European Champion, Wojciech Pszczolarski pairs with Berlin Six Day winner, the hugely experienced Dutchman, Wim Stroetinga.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

And, of course, there’s ‘Par no. 7’ – home boy and multiple winner and podium finisher in the Six Day here, Michael Mørkøv – paired with rising star in the Danish heavens, Oliver Wulff Frederiksen.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

An interesting pairing is that of Dane Casper Pedersen and Sunweb World Tour Dutch team mate and 2019 Nokere Koerse winner, Cees Bol.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

Apart from Wojciech we have Polish pairing Bartosz Rudyk and Damian Slawek.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

And German pairing, our old chum Hans Pirius and Moritz Augenstein; Hans has won the u23 Gent Six Day and Moritz the u23 Bremen Six Day.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

Then there’s our Czech guys, Denis Rugovac and Ludek Lichnovsky.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

Last but by no means is our Englishman, Stephen Bradbury who’s becoming a regular on the Six Day circuit with rides in Bremen and Berlin.

Pictured here in the wheel of splendidly named Belgian partner, Matthias van Beethoven who speaks absolutely perfect English.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

The first chase went to Messrs. Van Schip and Havik, putting their mark on the race early; ‘we want to win this,’ the message to the unfortunates trying to hold their wheels.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

Next up was the ladies’ Devil, won by English lass, Emily Nelson.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

The lads in pink won the One Lap TT – I’ll pay more attention tomorrow – our boy Moritz is usually pretty rapid over one lap but chose to put Hans in, like I say, I’ll pay more attention to the results tomorrow.

The music the play for the flying lap is cool – AC/DC, ‘Highway to Hell’ and Kiss, ‘I Was made for Loving You’ two of my faves.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

Derny One and our Denis was the early leader – never a good thing – with team five taking the flowers.

Derny Two went to Michael Mørkøv and the ladies Points – which seemed to be about 1,000 laps – to Emily.

The girls aren’t into lap gains but in fairness, at 250 metres, it’s a big old bowl to claw a lap out of.

Dario G’s ‘Sunchyme’ marked the 10 lap Balustrade Sprint – I’ll take pics tomorrow and then we were straight into the final 160 lap Chase.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

Unlike the Six Day here, there are no trackside cabins, as you can observe behind Yoeri Havik in this shot, it’s just ‘pens’ a la World Cups.

That means there’s nowhere for the riders to have a pee before the chase save go down through the tunnel to the stadium loos.

Copenhagen Three Day
Photo©Ed Hood

The last chase won’t go down as the annals as an all-time great but the music was good; they always play ‘Sandstorm’ by Darude as the Chase comes to head.

That and Paul Delicato’s tune to open the chase were pretty much the highlights of a Chase where not a lot of lap gains were made.

Oh, yeah – them Dutch guys won this Madison too.

Must dash, washing to do.

* * *

DAY TWO

Sleep came easier last night, one always sleeps better when one is exhausted…

Sometimes the music choices here delight me; Penny McLean, ‘Lady Bump’- what a tune, suddenly I was back in the 70’s.

Cees Bol is a ‘big unit’ as my amigo Martyn Frank would say.

I interviewed him two seasons ago when he was SEG Racing and thought it would be nice to catch up with him again but he and Pedersen had no soigneur or mechanic so time to talk to me was at a premium but I did extract that he’s no stranger to the boards having ridden the Dutch national Scratch, Points, and Madison Champs several times in the past.

He came up through the Rabobank Continental and SEG u23 teams where he could have had no better places to learn his craft.

After a successful u23 year in 2018 it was apparent he could and would go World Tour – with SEG masterminding his Sunweb ride.

Photo©Ed Hood

He found the step from u23 to World Tour a ‘big one’ but thinks he can ‘safely say he coped’; stage wins in California and Norway plus the race with the mad finale, Nokere Koerse endorse those comments – and there was also a pro kermis which I missed.

Four wins for a 24 year-old neo pro speaks for itself.

He rode around 80 race days last year including a good chunk of the Tour de France before the team pulled him out but ‘he likes to race a lot.’

He found the Tour tough but his form was great once he ‘rebounded.’

By now his partner, Casper was giving me the ‘evil eye,’ I said my thanks and bolted.

Photo©Ed Hood

The first Derny went to Havik but back at our enclosure Wojciech was too busy making fun of Ludek’s white shoes with red laces; ‘Ed, you remember seeing these; Umbro football boots at the World Cup in Wembley?’

Photo©Ed Hood

Emily won the next ladies race, I can’t remember what it was but my scribbles tell me she did.

Photo©Ed Hood

Next up was the Flying Lap with Pedersen unlikely to ever get a better lead-out and sling than the one he got from Big Cees.

Big Bob Bartko’s 12.449 track record became history as Pedersen stopped the clock on 12.445 – rapid for 250 metres.

Photo©Ed Hood

They were happy boys.

Derny Two went to Michael Mørkøv. Derny one? I’m not a Derny lover and need to pay more attention!

Sorry.

Photo©Ed Hood

Stephen might have nicked the Ballustrade Sprint but snatched a look back and lost that little bit of momentum to lose narrowly at the line.

In the Copenhagen Six Day the Monday night Handicap Chase is the one everyone wants to win.

Our boy Hans paired with American ‘Crit King’ Daniel ‘Hollywood’ Holloway won it two years ago – that was a good night and a good Six for us.

They’ve included the Handicap Race as the highlight of the Saturday night programme.

The chase is over 75 K; 300 laps with ‘The Bigs’ giving away up to five laps on the ‘limit men.’

With only one mechanic for 18 teams we had to lay our plans in case of punctures – wheel changes for Hans and Bartosz; bike changes for the rest, spanners and Allen keys neatly laid out.

Fortunately our skills weren’t tested.

They plucked another quality ‘rave from the grave’ ‘45’ early in the evening – Blue Suede, ‘Hooked on a Feeling,’ a terrific chase tune.

Photo©Ed Hood
Photo©Ed Hood

Kris handed up A LOT of drinks and I felt like a retriever constantly trotting round the track to recover the bottles.

Kris is fanatical about them baby feeding bottles we use – the new babies’ bottles are made from a different plastic, don’t you know?

Photo©Ed Hood

Coming into the last 10 K we had a real chance of the win with Stephen and Matthias but local boys, Team 16, on the same lap attacked them and our boys just couldn’t get with them – no one was doing us any favours and once 16 made the peloton, the locals kept the pressure on.

An Englishman winning the big chase?

The only thing that could be worse than that would be an Englishman AND a Belgian winning…

Beer and a sandwich after the washing?

Naw! Go back up to the track and chain the bikes up.

* * *

DAY THREE

‘Rough’ doesn’t describe how I felt for the last day but a cold shower and one of Kris’s superb omelettes soon had me back to life.

Drama.

Ludek’s ‘football boots’ were missing – at close to midnight when eight guys dump two jerseys each, vests, shorts, mitts shoes and helmets in their wake it’s difficult to keep track.

Sort it in the morning’ is the mantra – but I could find but seven pairs of shoes until Kris picked a bag off the bench, ‘is this them?

Sweet relief – a coffee to celebrate.

“Smiling Jimmi” Madsen, one of the organising team came round early with plastic canisters of chicken pasta salad.

He fixes me with a stare;

Not for you, Ed!

For di riderz!”

“Cheers Jimmi !”

Girls’ Derny and Emily doesn’t win! Maybe she wasn’t riding?

Photo©Ed Hood

The ‘Wee’ Chase, still Van Schip and Havik hammer away at it but let the young Danes take the flowers.

Lorca’s ‘Ritmo de la Noche’ is the tune of the chase.

Photo©Ed Hood

But Damien and Bartosz aren’t digging it, they lose a lot of laps and it’s apparent they won’t handle the final – a shame.

Longest Lap at the Copenhagen Three Day. Photo©Ed Hood

Stephen wins the ‘Longest Lap’ – where one rider from each team rolls round from the back straight into the home straight but can’t cross the start line ‘til the gun goes.

Riders fall off/put a foot down/cross the line until it’s only the hardcore ‘standstill artists’ left then the gun fires and it’s a mad dash for one lap.

It’s entertaining.

Pedersen breaks the old Flying Lap record again but is 1/1000th shy of his previous night’s time.

Jonny Wakelin’s, ‘In Zaire’ can mean only one thing – Dernys!

Photo©Ed Hood

Denis wins!

I trot over with his towel and bottle for the presentation, a race official collars me; ‘what is this guy’s name?

I’m not sure we’re leaving our stamp on this race.

Photo©Ed Hood

But Denis’s Derny exertions cause him to fashion a bed from a wheel bag and a blanket – ingenious those Czech boys.

Michael Mørkøv wins Derny Two, Emily wins the ladies’ Points and it’s time for ‘Sunchyme’ and the Ballustrade for the last time as I struggle the drier down the steps to the cabin.

I’m doing more of that pack mule stuff as ‘Cara Mia’ signals the start of the last chase.

Cara Mia mine, why must we say goodbye?

I come back up to, ‘Crying at the Discotheque’ by Alcazar – Top Tune!

There’s an element of surprise about the final Chase, will the Dutchmen leave it as a three lap whitewash or go for a four lap Copenhagen Three Day Apocalypse?

Winners of the Copenhagen Three Day in action. Photo©Ed Hood

They make it five laps.

Hans and Moritz are heading for Australia to race Madisons; Wojciech to a training camp in South Africa; the Czechs, Poles and Stephen back home, lugging bike boxes the size of small cars.

What’s that? All the island ferries are cancelled because of the gales?

It’s snowing in Edinburgh?

Hawick is under water?

Yeah, and we’re heading back to Scotland.

See you at Het Nieuwsblad?

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

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