The Milan Bicycle Show brings back the Milan “6-Day” race
After the taste we had a year ago at “Bike4Show” 2007 – 4 days of racing, a success beyond all expectations – the “6-Day” race of Milan makes a full-fledged comeback: from 4 to 9 November, in pavilion 7 of the new Fiera, within the 66th International Bicycle and Motorcycle Show. The “6-Day” race of Milan has already been entered in the international calendar of events.
The announcement was in the air; now we have had the official confirmation. “Thanks to the collaboration of Fiera Milano and Regione Lombardia – claims Guidalberto Guidi, President of Confindustria Ancma and Eicma – we can keep our promise and bring back to the world of biking, to the city of Milan and the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Bicycle and Motorcycle Show an Event that is deeply rooted in the sports culture of this city, and in that our country”.
THE VELODROME
A 166m long circuit will be used, in lieu of the 200m ring used at “Bike4Show” 2007.
“The choice – explains Silvio Martinello, in charge of the project - was made with the aim to obtain better results from the technical and the spectacular viewpoint, and a scenic impact better suited to the setting in which the race will take place. The 166m velodrome will exalt the agonistic aspect, making the races more exciting, more fun, more heated. Needless to say, all this will go to the advantage of the enthusiastic spectators that we are getting ready to welcome”.
The experience of 2007 provides us with a few suggestions. In particular, the design of the stands has been modified so as to increase the slant and offer the audience a perfectly unobstructed view of the track; the bridge leading to the centre of the circuit has also been modified, while the interior of the ring will be fitted out to accommodate the VIPs, the authorities and the sponsors, as well as people wishing to experience the thrill of watching the race, in good company and joyfully, from the inside of the installation.
THE FORMAT OF THE EVENT
The format will be the same as we had at Bikes4Show in 2007: a magic combination of a musical show and a racing event, designed to involve the public in the festive atmosphere that has always been the leitmotif of the most important 6-day competitions the world over.
The race program will include all the specialties that have traditionally been featured on the programs of 6-day events: American - elimination – points - sprint - derny and chronometer races.
The first 2 days of the “6-Day” will take place during the first 2 days of the Bicycle and Motorcycle Show, when only operators are admitted.
This will make it possible to open the doors of the velodrome to thousands of students from the elementary and middle schools of the province of the Milan and give them a chance to become acquainted with the world of track racing. To this end, an essential factor will be the collaboration of the Italian Cycling Federation, which may call into play hundreds of young cyclists clubs from all over Lombardy and from elsewhere: they will have an opportunity to offer their young members unforgettable moments, in elbow contact with some of the best loved champions of the biking world.
THE PARTICIPANTS
The choice of a 166m track imposes a limitation on the number of entrants, so there will be 12 pairs of bikers on the track (there were 15 at “Bikes4Show” in 2007). Since the competition has been included in the international calendar, some of best foreign specialists will also be racing in this event.
There is a plan to organise an event reserved to cyclists under 23 and juniors. In this connection the collaboration of the ICF will again play a decisive role. They have already been sent a formal request.
SUPERSTAR
We already know we can rely on the participation of the 2 times world champion and gold medallist at the Athens Olympics Paolo Bettini, increasingly at ease in circuit racing. With Marco Villa, the greatest Italian track cyclist of today, Bettini won the 2007 edition of “Bikes4show” - bearing the colours of Expo 2015, perhaps a small token of the extraordinary victory that Milan reaped two days ago.