Alex Rasmussen and Michael Mørkøv give one another a well deserved pat on the back.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
A disappointed Iljo Keisse warms down after the Madison.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Riders line up in front of Bernard Hinault for the Rotterdam Six Day(Image credit: AFP Photo)
The weekend of racing at the Rotterdam Six Day has been interrupted by multiple crashes, forcing organisers to reformulate the teams as riders sit out or abandon the racing altogether due to injuries.
On the Friday, Peter Schep had a dramatic crash in the derny race, and his partner Theo Bos was paired up with German Robert Bartko, whose own partner Jeff Vermeulen was suffering from an injury, to finish out the night.
On the final madison of the night, a large and violent crash involving Iljo Keisse, Danny Stam, Ismael Kip and Marc Hester forced the organisers to halt the night's racing prematurely to let the medics attend to the fallen.
While all four and Schep as well remounted for Saturday's race, another dramatic crash plagued the race leaders, Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen, who collided with Bos during an exchange. Schep, still smarting from a severely bruised buttocks, narrowly avoided going down again.
While Rasmussen was able to remount, Mørkøv was dazed and kept out of competition, while Bos also sat out with an arm injury.
Rasmussen continued with Bartko, while Stam was ailing from the Friday night crash with a hurt rib. The Dutchman soldiered on with Keisse to hold onto third place, although their point deficit increased dramatically to the new leaders, Swiss pair Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli.
On Sunday, there was another crash, with Dutch rider Jens Mouris crashing in the derny race along with Michael Vingerling. Both suffered abrasions.
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Mouris, neutralised for the night, joked that there have been so many crashes that all the racers together in the field barely have enough skin left to cover a single rider.
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
