Cycling: Death of the six-day race: Sixday Berlin at least on two days

Roger Kluge still knows the good old Sixdays days from his own experience. In the fall of 2006, the Berliner – at almost 38 years old, one of the longest-serving professionals in the track cycling circus – ran his first six-day race in the elite category in Dortmund. From mid-October to the end of February, events of this kind were on the competition calendar almost every week. There was also a lively Sixdays scene in Germany: after the round hunt in the Westfalenhalle, Munich, Bremen, Stuttgart and Berlin followed.

“Today the calendar is already very thin,” Roger Kluge knows all too well. After all: At the most recent stop, at the 57th Sixdays in Bremen, he was able to win again with his partner Theo Reinhardt. The Hanseatic city had just made a comeback in mid-January – after a three-year forced break due to corona. However, it was a slight deception: instead of six days, there were only four days of the once popular mix of sport and party in the arena on the Bürgerweide.

Now the even more traditional race in Berlin is coming up. After the successful restart a year ago, the makers were now forced to shorten the event to two days: under the name »SixDay-Weekend« it will take place on January 26th and 27th in the Velordrom on Landsberger Allee. Real six-day races currently only take place in Ghent, Belgium, and in Rotterdam, its Dutch neighbors. »We haven’t bottomed out yet. But at least it doesn’t go any further down,” says Kluge, who, as a two-time world champion and three-time European champion, is one of the top riders in the Madison scene.

The reasons for the death of the six-day races are complex. Dortmund, Munich and Stuttgart disappeared from the Sixdays map at the end of the 2000s, also as a result of the many discussions about doping in cycling. New races like those in London and concepts like the “Sixday Series” run by the British Madison Sports Group, to which the Berlin event was a part for several years, were knocked out by the coronavirus pandemic. This is a problem that is troubling all organizers more of an older, traditional audience. It is difficult to reach new and younger target groups.

In Bremen this year, the Sixdays organizer Event Sport & Nord GmbH (ESN) has, as in the past, focused heavily on shows and parties alongside a high-class starting field. The pop stars Vanessa Mai and Ben Zucker and the Schunkel duo Klaus & Klaus at least ensured a good turnout. “We had very, very high pressure, but we are very satisfied and had very successful six days with a great atmosphere,” says Erik Weißpfennig, sporting director and managing director of the ESN. It is not yet clear whether the figures were actually in the black. In any case, it should continue next year – again on four days, from January 10th to 13th.

In the capital, the future path is a little less clear. The shortening of the upcoming 111th Berlin Six Day Race happened at short notice due to a lack of demand. The organizers can currently only dream of times when almost 70,000 visitors flocked to Landsberger Allee for Bockwurst, beer and Sportpalast waltzes. “The six-day race format is looking for its new identity,” says managing director Valts Miltovics. In 2024, the focus will be on sport, and even the stayer races that are so popular in Berlin have been upgraded again. There are also more show elements. »But we only have one hall, not four like in Bremen. We try to combine sport and show,” says Miltovics.

The Berlin manager sees the future with six racing days again – like last time in 2020. That’s why we’re sticking to the tried and tested name. »The name is strange if we’re only going for two days. But the goal is clear: We want a real six-day race again – the faster, the better. But it has to grow,” says Miltovics: “And someone has to pay for the fun.”

The six-time Sixdays winner Roger Kluge also wants a return to the classic format – also for his own economic reasons. “For many drivers, the fees at the Sixdays were always a financial injection, for some they were essential,” explains the professional cyclist, who was born in Eisenhüttenstadt and lives in Ludwigsfelde. There was no question in his mind that he would help: “I am a thoroughbred racing driver and am happy to support this feat so that we can perhaps return to the traditional six days in Berlin in the future.” Whether Kluge will still experience this as an active racing driver, may be doubted.