This is the first year that I’ve really been following six day racing, and I finally decided to find out a little behind the history of this unique sub set of our sport.

Six day racing goes back all the way to 1878, when a professional named David Stanton sought a bet that he could ride 1,000 miles in six successive days, riding 18 hours a day. A gentleman named Mr. Davis put up £100 and the stake was held by the Sporting Life newspaper. Stanton started at 6am on 25 February and won the bet in 73 hours, riding on a high-wheeled machine at an average speed of 13.5 mph.

In time the format was changed to allow teams (usually of two riders each), one rider racing while the other rested. The 24-hours a day regime had also been relaxed, so that most six-day races involved six nights of racing, typically from 6pm to 2am, on indoor tracks.The overall winner is the team which completes most laps. In the event of teams completing the same number of laps, the winner is the team with most points won in intermediate competitions such as points races, time trials and motor paced events.

Six day racing came to America in 1891, with pure endurance events held at Madison Square Garden. Riders would strive to complete as many laps as possible over a six day period. The riders would rest when needed, but spent the remainder of the time racing to complete laps.

Six-day racing remained popular in the USA, even though the states of New York and Illinois led the way in 1898 in limiting races to 12 out of 24 hours. The lawyers’ intention was to allow riders to rest half the day, but promoters realized that changing the rules so that riders competed in teams of two, with only one rider on the track at a time, would give each the 12 hours’ rest the law intended while making the race still last 24 hours. Speeds rose, distances grew, crowds increased, money poured in.

Where six-day star Charlie Miller rode 2,088 miles alone, the Australian Alf Goullet and a decent partner could ride 2,790. The first such two-man race was at Madison Square Garden and such two-man tag racing has became known in English-speaking countries as a Madison and to the French as l’américaine.

Prior to World War II, velodrome racing, and Six-day racing in particular, was popular in the United States. Due to a number of factors, chief among them the rise of the automobile and the Great Depression, track racing in general declined in popularity after the early 1900s. Annual six-day races were popular in larger cities such as Boston and Detroit into the thirties and stayed on in New York until 1950.

European tracks grew desolate, the night sessions a refuge for partygoers who’d missed the bus and a small number of dedicated fans. Teams neutralized the race for hours. In London, the Australian promoter and former rider, Ron Webb, changed the program in 1968 to six days of racing in just the afternoon and evening, with a break between sessions. It took a while for this format to catch on, but this is now the predominate format.

Six-day racing is now principally a European phenomenon, particularly popular in Belgium and Germany. Spectators may be entertained by live music, and have access to restaurants and bars. The Munich Six-Day race even features a funfair around the outside of the track, and a night-club in the cellar that opens at 2am (when the racing finishes).

Tags: America, Belgium, Boston, Charlie Miller, David Stanton, depression, Detroit, GBP, germany, Greater London, Illinois, London, Madison Square Garden, Michigan, Munich, New York, Ron Webb, six day racing, track racing, United Kingdom, united states, velodrome