October 8/12 13:33 pm - Forest City Velodrome 6 Day - Day 3 Report and results
Posted by Editoress on 10/8/12
As a bike racing fan, no one went home after Night #3 of the Albert Coulier Memorial 6 Day race on Saturday night (October 6th) without a smile on their face. Whether the team they were cheering for was in first or last place, the racing was hard, fast, and exciting. The average speed of the race was again over 47 kph, which includes the Points sprints during the first Madison.
All the Madison teams had their game faces on as they were warming up for the evening's events. The format stays the same each night so that the racers can get a sense of how much time they have to prepare for the events. One of the nuances of this 6 Day event is that organizers are awarding points for each rider during the night; this means as the team gains 100 points they gain a lap on the field, just by being consistent during the points sprints. Each night there are 11 opportunities to score up to 7 points for a victory. This makes the teams have to contest each sprint and keeps the racing fast and furious.
Many more riders were on the infield, with a nice group of Velo-Kids taking part in their Handicap tournament. In addition the Velodrome had its regular B and C division racers out to put on a show throughout the night.
How Night #3 Unfolded:
The 18 Madison riders prepared very well over night, as all six teams were very excited to get the program off the a fast start. In the first Madison, The Can-Am team (fourth place) were the first to attack, however, they did not take a lap since the duo of Hanam and Brennan were able to stretch the legs of the top two teams (Niagaraand& London #1). This jam lasted over five minutes and, as the teams came back together, it was the London #2 team of Geoff Power and Eric McDonald who were successful in lapping the field to take back one of the laps they had lost the previous night. This was in the first ten minutes of racing and led into the first points sprints of the night.
Two very exciting sprints had the two top teams split the points and there was nothing gained at the top of the standings, however, there is still quite a battle for third through fifth - Team Delhi (Renneboog and Vermeulen), Team Can-Am, and Team London #2. These teams have been attacking one and other for the first two days of racing and it continued last night.
With double points on offer for the final sprint the teams were trying to position themselves for the final rush to the line. With two minutes to go three teams got separation of about a quarter lap that never came back together. The final sprint had Team Niagara (Singleton and Trafford) pip Team London #1 (Mason and Aitcheson) by half a wheel at the line to score double points and close the distance on the Race Leaders.
The official placing for the top three teams are: Team London #1 (even laps and 61 points) Team Niagara (even laps and 53 points) ... just 8 points separate the top two teams. Team Delhi (-1 lap and 51 points) is third.
Racing continues next Thursday evening (October 11th) at 7:00 pm. With four days to recover the racers will be ready to put on the best show possible; we encourage all bike race fans to attend the racing next weekend and see what all the fuss is about.
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