Berlin, Berlin, we go to Berlin!
The world’s oldest six-day race once again invited guests to the Velodrom on Landsberger Allee this year. The Pushbikers were able to fill the field of riders with four participants, two teams at once, and with team number three we also brought along the pairing of the German Madison champions. Moritz Malcharek/Moritz Augenstein also ended up in third place and thus on the podium behind the European champions Kluge/Reinhardt and the triumphant world champions Havik/van Schip.
A race report by Max Benz-Kuch
For one Moritz (Malcharek), it was probably the two best days of the entire season. Together with his partner, he was always on the offensive in front of his home crowd and was a constant presence. In this short edition of the 111. Berlin Sixdays, there was hardly any time to catch his breath during two packed nights of racing. Derny races, 500 m time trials, elimination races and the classic two team chases represented a return to the traditional programme. To put it in a nutshell: every evening ‘full throttle’ bike race. Our team of Roy Efting/Claudio Imhof, who were sent into the race with the number 10, were able to do more than just set the tone. They managed to win the first lap of the race after just seven laps and on the final Saturday a 500 metre time trial, which has never been ridden so fast in the Berlin Velodrom, a TRACK RECORD! Up until the last race, the pair were still in third place, the position they had to vacate after the final chase for the two Moritzs. Roy and Claudio also had a great time in Berlin. For the latter, this was tantamount to his debut for the team, which he commented with “I haven’t had this much fun on the track for a long time”. Congratulations and welcome, dear Claudio!
Our team manager Christian Grasmann made the commentary his own on Saturday in the first-ever Sixdays stream. In the role of co-commentator alongside ex-Pushbiker Robert Bensch, who is normally heard on Eurosport, he gained a completely new perspective on the competitions of six-day racing that he knows well and the mood of the Berlin audience. So let’s hope for six days in Berlin again soon, two well-attended days were balm for the soul of cycling fans groaning after close results and fast races on the oval.
— Arne Mill, Pushbikers