Inside view of the Six Day scene
Iljo Keisse, Franco Marvulli, Danilo Hondo and Robert Bartko may be the men collecting the fat envelopes on the six day circuit, but it takes more than a handful of riders to make a race.
And the old guard are slipping away: Steven De Neef signed off at Ghent and Danny Stam will do the same in Copenhagen.
The sport needs young riders, but it’s a hard club to gain membership of.
One young man who’s paying his dues and gaining acceptance on the small, steep winter boards is Jesper Mørkøv, who at 23 is the younger brother of Saxo Bank pro Michael.
VeloNation caught up with him at the recent Sixday-Nights of Zurich, talking to him about this area of the sport, his background and his future goals.
VeloNation: How many six days have you ridden, Jesper ?
Jesper Mørkøv: This is my 13th with six of those in 2011, including the summer six at Fiorenzuola and the U23 six in Tilburg.
Ghent has been the toughest so far, from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am with virtually no breaks, just race, race, race, full gas – but that’s a Patrick Sercu programme!
VeloNation: How tough is it to break into the circuit ?
JM: Really hard. I rode Copenhagen in 2009 and then in 2010 with just UiV cups (U23 six days) in between – although I was lucky to get a contract for Fiorenzuola.
I rode Tilburg and then I was lucky again because Bobby Traksel called off sick for Amsterdam and I got a call at short notice. That got me a reserve place at Gent – and then I got the ride there.
So you can see that a lot of it is being in the right place at the right time.
Velo Nation: Who negotiates your contracts for you ?
JM: Henrik Elmgreen does. He’s the boss of the Copenhagen six day and President of the Union Internationale des Velodromes.
But you don’t negotiate, you just accept what’s offered – it’s not about the money, it’s about wanting to race. I’d probably make more money from a normal job but you have to think about the future.
VN: Does being called Mørkøv help?
JM: It can, but on the other hand people might also think that I have expectations I shouldn’t, because of my name.
VN: You rode for CC Bonnat in Paris this season…
JM: Yes, we didn’t ride as many stages races as perhaps I would have liked, just three, but I hope to ride more in 2012 – they’re great preparation for the six days. But I rode a hell of a lot of one day races.
If you’re like my brother or Alex Rasmussen and riding Grand Tours, you don’t have to think about the winter because the racing prepares you.
But for me, I have to be thinking about my condition for the winter all year…as soon as the Copenhagen six day is over.
VN: And you have a new Danish team for 2012 ?
JM: Yes, Michael Sandstod the ex-pro is starting behind it, ‘Jensen Sandstod Sale and Event’ is the name.
It’s a continental team, there will be seven in Denmark for 2012; there are only four in France because the French Federation insists on a minimum wage for Continental teams…if it wasn’t for that, there’d be about 30! We’ll be focusing on Danish races but also racing abroad – it all depends on the invites.
VN: Isn’t a twelve month season hard on the head ?
JM: It can be, if you just ride a road season then you can look forward to your four or six weeks off. Most of them start training at the beginning of November but don’t get really serious until Xmas.
But if you ride the winter tracks then you have to keep in shape – I took a little break after Copenhagen this year and then three weeks off the bike after the Tilburg six day.
That meant that when I got the Amsterdam call I was a little under prepared – it was hard – but now I feel the benefit of the rest.
VN: Isn’t all the travel sore on the system ?
JM: I feel it in the winter a little with the gaps in the programme, you can’t just go from race to race – you must go home in between races. Usually I enjoy the travel – but I don’t have a wife and kids !
VN: Do you wish you’d been around in the 90’s when you could have ridden 17 races straight ?
JM: I think if you did that then the racing couldn’t be so spectacular, you couldn’t make the big attacks because you’d be so tired !
VN: There’s a month between the end of Zurich and Rotterdam – how do you keep in shape?
JM: After the Danish track championships, I’ll train in Tuscany with my brother Michael and the Saxo Bank guys.
It’s good to get to train with Michael…I didn’t see him so much this with me living in Paris and him in Tuscany, and us both having different race programmes. I like when we’re both home in Denmark and can train together.
After Tuscany I have the Danish madison championships with Marc Hester and then a training camp in Majorca.
I have my fingers crossed that I will get to ride in Rotterdam. It’s not confirmed – but I have Bremen after Rotterdam.
VN: Being Danish, the Copenhagen six must be special for you, but also a lot of pressure?
JM: Very special!
But the pressure is most on team number seven; Michael and Alex; and also Marc Hester – he was on the podium last year.
I can take a bit of a back seat – but it’s still hectic with friends, family, sponsors and you have to take care of yourself with all the extra demands. They use up your valuable relaxation time, especially as the week goes on and you need rest.
VN: What do you like and not like about the six days?
JM: I like that it’s not just about one race on one day – you can mess up in one race but come good again in another. With World Cups you could go all the way to Beijing to ride one race and have a bad day.
I love the fact that a six is such a big show – with all of the public. There’s not much I’d complain about, some of the cabins at certain races can be a bit basic.
But if you came through riding the U23 six days, like I did, then you don’t complain – sometimes there’s no dressing room or nowhere to put your rollers – it’s almost like they don’t want you there.
VN: What’s your biggest goal in cycling?
JM: To ride the Copenhagen six day with my brother Michael – that’s been my dream since I started cycling.