The Six Day Returns
Dateline 25-Oct-2015
It may be over four years since the last posting here - but now we have actually seen the first British Six since 1980. And what a great Six it was!

A great combination of entertainment and sport that deserves a regular spot in the London calendar.

But getting there was not straight-forward - especially with its difficult slot in the track racing calendar. With the European Championships running until Sunday and a round of the Revolution Series coming on the following Saturday there was clearly no way that London could be a full six day long race. However the freestanding 1878 Cup organised to cover Sunday at least meant that there was six days of racing. A better slot for 2016 would be a big help.

Also in the four years since the last posting a website dedicated to the British Six Day Race has been built - at SixDay.org.uk - so now you can discover much more about their long racing history.

Golden Opportunity for 6-Day Revival
Dateline 23-April-2011
The new track is ready - so can London now revive its 6-Day Race heritage? After the Olympics what can fill the track cycling gap - without impacting the Manchester Revolution series? Which organiser that can make London track racing commercially successful?

First a step back - because there are cycling fans who do not know that London had 6-Day Races. The first ones I remember were in the 1960s and 70s. But the first was held in 1923 and this programme from 1936 - records one of the pre-war 6-Days at Wembley >>

In the 1960s the racing returned using a small (143m / 160m / 176yds?) de-mountable track. In fact I think that there must have been two tracks used between 1967 and 1980 since Herbert Schürmann claims the design of the 1970 version. One of them is still in use today - at Chalshot, near Southampton.

Track designer, Ron Webb, was also promoter of the London SKOL 6-Day Race for some 12 years. The last London 6-Day was in 1980 and the great Patrick Sercu holds the unofficial record with 8 victories. That is, of course, a record that can never be beaten - unless a London 6-Day is one of the legacies of the 2012 investments.

So has anyone heard of 6-Day Races being planned for the Olympic track or any other UK track? If so let me know... but I know about the 2009 attempt.

If not then what are the obstacles to having one? Well ... it is a busy calendar with established organisers and regular riders. Adding a new venue would be difficult - if the objective was to fit it into the schedules of the established pro-elite riders.
However there aren’t many Brits riding on the pro-elite 6-Day circuit. And I doubt that a new event fielding mainly “foreign” stars would get much publicity or support.
Sure .. the fans who are prepared to travel to see European Sixes would attend. But not the average cyclists and their families. A better long-term solution would be to build-up a fan-base for our domestic talent.
In fact the Revolution series is a classic example of mixing plenty of domestic riders with a selection of overseas stars. And this series has already done a lot of the ground work for any 6-Day. Plus a domestic Six would not need to fit in with the schedules of the overseas specialists. But why stop at just one? How about also having a Six for U23-riders and another for women? Steps too far?
Who knows... but the world’s newest, and potentially fastest, track is sitting there waiting to be used. It will be waiting again once the Olympic circus has moved on - and waiting there every day until someone takes up the challenge.

Anyone up for a London 6-Day Race 2012 campaign?

Even if not then you can still read about the 1973 Skol 6 here...
and some more about earlier London Six-Days here...

Plus there is the new Six Day Cycle Races UK website here...
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2011-12 Six-Day Programme

27-Jun-2011   6 Giorni delle Rose Fiorenzuola d'Arda ITA
05-Sep-2011   2e Zesdaagse van Brabant NED
17-Oct-2011   6-Daagse van Amsterdam NED
27-Oct-2011   6-jours, Palais des Sports Grenoble FRA
22-Nov-2011   Lotto Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Gent BEL
30-Nov-2011   Sixday-Nights Zürich SUI
12-Dec-2011   Zesdaagse van Apeldoorn NED
15-Dec-2011   11 Sechs Tage Rennen Hannover GER
05-Jan-2012   6-Daagse van Rotterdam NED
12-Jan-2012   48 Bremer 6-Tage-Rennen GER
26-Jan-2012   101 Berliner 6 Tage Rennen GER
02-Feb-2012   Copenhagen 6-days Ballerup DEN

ps the new Roubaix indoor track is not due to be completed until April 2012 but the administration is already considering hosting a 6-Day.