I thought I would post a spectators perspective of my first
experience in watching a bike race in Europe. This is long.

Over the last two years Karen and I have become die-hard velodrome
fans. We were newbies to this type of racing and had watched with
interest the building of the velodrome, and stopped to watch every
now and then when we were off-road tandeming through Bloomer. Now
almost any night there is a race at Bloomer we will be there. The
competition and excitement is fantastic. And the Pit Crew are a
delight. We have come to enjoy watching the races so much, that come
winter we have discussed making a trip to London and "visiting"
Karen's brother, so we have a place to stay after watching the races
there. The only thing is how do we sneek out for a couple of hours
to get our fix?

Well, I knew I would be traveling to Germany a couple of times this
winter, and I also saw a post (Craig von Seeger) about the Six Days
in Europe. As luck (well maybe a bit of planning) would have it I
was in Stuttgart at the start of the Six Days in Munich. So Friday
Nov 11th, I drove the 200 km or so and went to the Olympic Hall. I
couldn't find anyone else interested so I went myself. Not speaking
or being able to read German added a bit of excitement to the trip,
but I only got lost once, and even then was only 3 blocks from the
Olympic Hall.

I really didn't know what to expect, but figured it would be fun.
And with some big names it would have to be exciting, right? When I
got there, at 6:30 the "Open Talents Cup" was just starting. I
bought a 40 Euro ticket and had a spot 17 rows up on the finish
line. And to think I only pay $3 for a seat 2 rows up at Bloomer.
But then again I got to buy some curry franks and beer (10 Euros).
Although the race had started, I decided to walk around the upper
ring and see all the exhibitions. Also I wanted to find a t-shirt as
evidence that I had been there. Lots of bike shops had bikes and
gear on sale. A number of restaurants, including some very fancy
ones. Seems like the Germans take eating and drinking and watching
the races to a new level. We normally bring a couple of grinders
with us and some beverages to Bloomer, but it would be nice change if
Dale had a 4 Star restaurant on the hill. After walking once around,
and never finding a t-shirt (I guess I will just have to keep wearing
my Bloomer one) I decided to take my seat. I watched the finish of
the race. It was a Madison style race and there were a lot of
teams. I don't know how long it was. But the competition was
pretty good. In the end I don't know who won, but one of the riders
had hair like Ronnie Sink.

After the introductory race there was a lot of talking and then they
had a juggler. He was pretty good, but he kept dropping the pins.
Then they did the introduction of the teams, just like they do at
Bloomer. There was 14.5 teams and then the 0.5 dropped out. Why, I
don't know. Then there was a great individual race, where one of the
Italian riders got a lap on everyone.

The music was pretty good, though it was recorded and not live. But
the DJ picked good tunes to go along with the race. All the music
was America, and a lot of Motown. This was the only English I heard
all night long, so it was very welcome.

Next they had some BMX rider messing up stunts. And more interviews.

They had this very long Madison race, which was good, but not really
exciting. Maybe I am spoiled, but it must have been about 200 laps
and there was no sprint for points except at laps 20 and 10. They
need to take a page from Dale's handbook and throw in more sprints.
There was a lot of breakaways. The Zabel/Rossi team got away 3
times, so they ended up winning. It was pretty clear when they
decided to go, they were gone. Some of the other teams also broke
away as well. But it was very clear that Zabel/Rossi were going to
win. And the competition unbalanced. This is an area where Dale
does a great job keeping the races interesting for the spectators.
Another thing I missed, and maybe I am not as tuned into it as I
should be, but I didn't see any evidence of strategy, it seemed to be
just go for it. With Rick it is pretty evident and exciting when he
is making a move or staring down an opponent prior to a sprint.

So another team with a Ronnie Sink look alike (well from row 17 all I
could see was the long blonde hair) won.

The juggler came back. And dropped some more pins.

Next was a Derny race. This is the first time I have seen one, I
don't understand them, but still it was pretty cool. First oddity I
noticed, 10 Derny's and 11 riders on the track. The Derny riders
starting picking up riders and it seemed like they had the upper hand
in picking the rider. Finally there was Rossi in second place with
no Derny, another rider in about 9th and one Derny. The Derny rider
almost picked up the 9th place guy, but then he noticed Rossi up
front, and took off. The race was pretty interesting. Aerodynamics
seemed to be important. For the longest time the team with the
fattest/widest Derny rider was winning. Towards the end Rossi and
his Derny rider, the big man team and another were going around side
by side, pretty cool.

At this point is was about 11:30, and I was very tired, and had 2
hours of driving to do. And while the race was on till 1, I really
need some sleep so off I went.

In the end the race was good, and I enjoyed it, but the races at
Bloomer are still my favorite.

Brian Warner