Six Days races, like almost all other aspects in professional cycling, have changed dramatically over the past three or four decades. Races are fewer and farther apart, the stars from the road are reluctant to participate and there’s a bigger diversity in the pelotons of the remaining Six Days races.

Accordingly, there is a lack of well-established dictators in the Six Days pelotons who can more or less dictate the outcome of the races.

Nevertheless, some stars on the Six Day circuit shine more brightly than others. One of these, unquestionably, is Belgian Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider Iljo Keisse. Cyclingquotes.com met the Belgian track star for a talk during the Sixday Nights in Zürich, Switzerland.

Situated next to an unattractive shopping centre, the Regensdorff Mövenpick Hotel offers little or no excitement from the outside, yet the interior is quite another story. An elegantly clad and slightly flirtatious female desk clerk leads me through the beautifully decorated reception area of the hotel where the participants of the Sixday Nights are staying and I find a seat outside the hotel’s restaurant.

It’s 1.30 p.m. and the riders are still devouring omelettes, bread and marmalade and almost anything on offer as they try to recuperate from last night’s demanding handicap Madison in the Stadionhalle.

As I patiently leaf though today’s edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a quarter of an hour passes by before I am suddenly interrupted by Iljo Keisse, the object of my interview this afternoon.

“I’m terribly sorry about the delay,” Keisse says, right hand outstretched. “But I was waiting for you in the restaurant,” suggesting that I could have joined him for breakfast while we commenced the interview.

Keisse generously shrugs at my apologies for having kept him waiting and as we sit down to chat about the current status of the European Six Days races, combining a career as a track specialist with a career on the road, life with Mark Cavendish on the Omega Pharma-Quick Step squad, his wasted years due to a dubious doping sentence, the current difficulties faced by many riders as a consequence of financial stagnation in European economies and his ambitions for the future, Keisse makes a point of switching of his iPhone. Apparently, I gladly note, he intends to take this interview seriously.

We launch the interview by discussing the ongoing race in Zürich which will be decided later this evening.

“Yesterday’s handicap Madison was very tough,” Keisse explains. “Silvan [Keisse’s partner, Swiss Silvan Dillier] and I, along with De Ketele and De Buyst, were handed a one lap deficit compared to Lampater and Kluge, which made it very difficult for us, and even though we repeatedly tried to gain back that lap, we weren’t able to do it. Unfortunately Kluge subsequently crashed during the derny race and he is now out of the race which means it will all come down to a duel between us and De Ketele/De Buyst. We trail them on points and De Buyst is extremely fast so we will probably have to lap them if we want to win.”

That turned out to be prophetic words from Keisse who launched the decisive attack with barely 17 laps [3.4km] to go in the decisive Madison to allow Dillier to clinch the win for the Belgian/Swiss duo.

Even though the number of Six Days races has decreased in recent years, life as a Six Days rider has not been made any easier, Keisse explains.

“With fewer races, riders have a better chance to recuperate between the remaining races and thus the competition becomes quite fierce. Besides, here in Zürich, as well as in Grenoble, we’re dealing with a race covering four instead of six nights. This further increases the level of competition as more explosive riders fancy their chances because the event is less of an endurance race compared to a traditional Six Days race.”

Contemplation preceeds answers

The reduction from four to six nights is not to Keisse’s liking, he emphasizes.

“First of all I dislike it because there is a lot of history and tradition attached to the Six Days. Reducing the number of nights to four, or even three as they recently did in Los Angeles, makes a mockery out of an important part of history as far as track cycling is concerned. In addition, how do you construct a rider’s Six Days palmares? Does a win here in Zürich count as a win in a Six Days race?” Keisse asks rhetorically.

Characteristically, Keisse pauses and carefully considers his point of view before expanding and looking at things at from a broader perspective.

“On the other hand,” Keisse adds, “looking at the situation from the organisers’ point of view I can definitely see why it’s tempting to reduce the number of nights. The current economic situation all across Europe makes it exceedingly difficult to attract sponsors and attempts to revive the Six Days races in Cologne and Hannover have been either terminated or postponed as a result of the organisers’ problems finding sponsors. For the public as well, I presume, the cost of purchasing a ticket has become relatively higher. Thus it’s not rare, unfortunately, to witness arenas that are less than half full on the opening night, as was the case here in Zürich. If money is a bit tight, it’s perfectly understandable if people choose to go to the Six Days on one night rather than two or three. Logically, they will prefer to go on the last night or the night of the handicap Madison rather than the opening night when the decisive action of the race may still be three or five nights away.”

Asked if he believes that we are watching the final days of the traditional Six Days races, Keisse once again takes his time before answering, occasionally scratching the back of his nose as he ponders the question.

“I certainly don’t hope so and I do believe there are some positive signs that the Six Days can survive. The baton is in the process of being handed over from one generation to the next, and a lot of the upcoming riders are adopting a more aggressive and less subdued approach and this can only be good in terms of providing a spectacle for the spectators.”

One of the emerging young stars is Keisse’s compatriot Jasper De Buyst who recently celebrated his 20th birthday by winning the Ghent Six Days with German Leif Lampater. Keisse has nothing but praise for his young fellow Belgian who had the audacity to engage in some mutual head-butting with Keisse before beating him in the decisive sprint in the team elimination (“Possibly the most prestigious discipline in a Six Days, even more so than the Madison,” according to Keisse) on the opening night.

“De Buyst is probably the most promising track talent I have ever seen,” Keisse explains, this time without any hint of hesitation. “I rode with him in Grenoble. Unfortunately I was worth shit in Grenoble and we finished third, but that wasn’t his fault. I was particularly impressed by his technical abilities. Normally a rookie tends to lose a few metres during the hand-slinging because it is a technically demanding exercise, and then the more experienced rider continuously has to close the gap. If you have to do so for six nights in a row, you end up paying the price. That wasn’t the case when I rode with De Buyst in Grenoble, and it doesn’t seem to be troubling him and De Ketele here, either. Unfortunately...,” Keisse adds laughingly.

Ghent most important Six Days race

Another positive sign for the Six Days, according to Keisse, is the fact that the organisers in general seem to be cutting down on the entertainment between the various disciplines.

“In Ghent, which is by far the most demanding race in my judgement, there are hardly any breaks which means that the audience is more or less constantly treated to action on the track which, basically, is what they have paid to come and see. I find it rather pointless, e.g. to include boxing fights in the programme. I don’t mean any disrespect to boxers, but I believe that people pay to come and watch track racing, not to watch prize fighters or acrobats or listening to music bands. If they want to do so, they have plenty of opportunities to go elsewhere. Furthermore, it can be rather tiresome, ironically, for us riders to have too many breaks. If you’re all pumped up and ready to go, it can be quite demanding if you have to go into the cabins for 20 minutes and then get yourself all fired up once again."

As a Belgian, the Six Days in Ghent, evidently, is the most important race on the circuit for Keisse.

“I was more or less born next door to the race track in Ghent so it goes without saying that it’s the most significant race to me, but the end of November is hardly an ideal time for me. The road season more or less finishes in the middle of September as far as I’m concerned and I don’t race track World Cup races so it’s a challenge for me to be in peak condition for the Six Days in Ghent. [Nonetheless, Keisse has won in Ghent on four occasions and finished runners-up with Dutchman Wim Stroetinga this year.]”

Once again Keisse pauses and contemplates before moving on.

“Part of the problem, compared to 20 or 30 years ago, is that the road season has expanded significantly. I’m not complaining about the increased amount of road races as it reflects cycling’s growing popularity on a much more global scale, but it does not exactly increase the incentives for the stars of the road to participate in the Six Days even though it would have been great if Cavendish had been allowed to take part in the race in Ghent. Just imagine what it would do to boost the interest in Six Days if Cavendish and Wiggins, e.g., were to take part in some of the Six Days. (Cavendish was prohibited from riding the Ghent Six Days by Omega Pharma-Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere.] In an ideal world, the UCI would take measures to co-ordinate the road and the track seasons more efficiently so that the stars of the road could be presented to the track audience as well. Besides, the stars of the road might also benefit from track racing. Just witness the successful transition from the track to the road made by many Australian and British riders. There might be a lot to be gained for all parties involved through better planning and co-ordination,” Keisse emphasises.