“Everything is still possible here,” said Erik Weispfennig, the sporting director the Bremen Sixdaysthe highly explosive situation before the final hunt on Monday evening in Madison. The high-class cycling event was as exciting as it has ever been. And the drivers always look forward to their days in Bremen anyway. The Tour de France stage winner Nils Politt from Cologne explains: “The challenging Bremen track is definitely a highlight in my racing calendar.”
This time it was more worthwhile than ever for the spectators to make the difficult weather-related journey to the town hall for the 59th edition of the Bremen Sixdays. Her coming was a sign of real passion anyway. The traditional spectacle presented itself slightly differently. The large party hall from previous years no longer existed, and the stage was also significantly smaller.
“We are concentrating on fewer areas, strengthening the quality of stay and making the experience even more intense,” explains managing director Hans Peter Schneider. An elderly visitor remembers previous six-day races: “Cycling was a minor matter for us after the celebrations.” Today the hall offers a good mix of party and sport on these days. What remains unchanged is that the 166.66 meter short wooden oval, where the steep curves are elevated by up to 53 degrees, remains the heart of the event.
In the Madison discipline, round wins count more than points collected. This simple rule initially became a stumbling block for the Italians Simone Consonni and Michele Scartezzini on the third day of the competition. The duo diligently scored points in all disciplines and led the standings with 183 points. But a single lost lap dropped them to third place, while their toughest competitors remained without a lap deficit. Consonni, Olympic champion in the team pursuit, and Scartezzini, runner-up in the Madison, came under pressure.
Excitement until the last lap
With perfect timing, Moritz Augenstein caught up and Roger Kluge by a double in the big hunt the top position. The 28-year-old Augenstein was crowned world scratch champion just a few months ago and also won European Championship gold in the derny. “Moritz has made great development,” said Erik Weispfennig, the sporting director of the Bremen Sixdays. Fighting at his side was the 39-year-old Kluge, three-time Madison world champion and five-time European champion, who won Olympic silver in the points race.
The world champion duo led after three of four days of competition with 167 points and no laps behind. Just behind them were Matias Malmberg and Nils Politt with 163 points, also with zero laps. Consonni and Scartezzini led in terms of points – but were at minus one lap.
On Monday, the last day of the competition, the one-hour deciding race will keep the excitement until the last lap. With 27 laps to go, the Italians went for the decisive lap win and thus equalized their deficit. Now they got the missing round back.
In the final sprint, Consonni and Scartezzini secured overall victory with 229 points; Augenstein and Kluge had to admit defeat by a narrow margin with 227 points. In the end, only two points separated the two top teams. “It was impossible to shake off the Italians. They rode in our slipstream for large parts of the race and saved the crucial grain in the process,” said Kluge. Despite the defeat, Bremen represented a valuable endurance test for the professional and his partner.
The Berliner Theo Reinhardt formed a successful Madison team with the local hero Kluge for years before he said an emotional farewell to his audience at the Berlin Sixdays last year. Augenstein is currently filling this gap with impressive success. On January 30th and 31st, both will compete at the Velodrom Berlin, where a world record attempt over 1,000 meters in the Madison time trial is planned. In Berlin, Kluge and Augenstein will once again rely on the energy of the audience – the power that makes the difference.