Montag, 15. Dezember 2008

The Sixdays of Zurich

The Sixdays of Zurich have a tradition that goes on for ages. This kind of bicycle race is actually quite a big deal all over Central Europe.

The formula is this: You have bicycle races for six nights, each from eight in the evening till two in the morning. The main races are being held by 12 teams with 2 riders each, so you see the teams in about 6 different races each night. The main races are:

L'Américaine / Madison: All teams are on the circuit, one rider each races, the other one rides on ‘standby’. Each ten laps there is a sprint, the whole race lasts 125 laps. Teams change riders on their own discretion. Speeds up to about 60 km/h.
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Team Pursuit: Something like the above, but since the race is shorter it gets much more hectic. Rider changes are more frequent. Speeds up to 70 km/h.
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Derny: Racing behind a pacemaker. Each rider had a pacemaker on a small motorbike (the Derny), and has to tell him how fast he’s able to go. 75 laps, one rider change, and extremely enthralling duels. Speeds up to 80 km/h. The catch is: The bigger (and fatter) the pacemaker is, the easier is the job for the rider.
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After each night the accounts are being made, and who has the most points after six night wins... Easy, isn’t it?

Not to forget are the fringe events, like the dancing barmaids at the Caipirinha bar...
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Enjoy the pics – and excuse their poor quality, I only had my compact with me and the light was pretty dark.

1 Kommentar:

Unknown hat gesagt…

I love it! Now that looks like an exciting race to attend. I'm sure I would have gladly gone with you had I been there. By the way the photos are great, especially knowing you didn't have your good cam with you. ;-)