October 28, 2007 (London, ON) – Competitors thought Friday night’s slugfest was hard, but the speed was even more intense on night 5 of the FCV Six Day.

Saturday night’s racing action started off with a bang. In the Elite division, only a few minutes into the first Madison of the night, the
teams were caught off guard as Team Quebec attacked trying to separate the 3-team log jam at the top of the leader board. As soon as they came back together, it was the combined team from Canada and the United States (Abbey and Crosby) who went over the top of the relaxed field to gain a 1/4 of a lap almost immediately. The other squads led by Team Ontario let the attackers dangle in front of the field until the points sprints started. All the teams came back together with London and Delhi struggling to keep up.

Just as the sprints were ending Team London launched a successful attack and pulled Delhi back into contention as both teams managed to gain a lap on the now spent trio of teams who were kicking one another leading up to the sprints. Team Ontario took a preem and split the field again with just a couple of minutes to go before the end of the first Madison. Quebec and Can-Am both took aim at the final points for the 1st chase of the night. During the final exchange, Abbey went over the top of Quebec in the final corner to earn a very gutsy and hard fought seven points in the end.

The Elite division was resting while the “B” racers competed in their Elimination race, 14-year-old Kyle Rupay out-lasted Sarah McKenzie-Picot to win his 5th straight Miss & Out for the Cadets and Juniors during the Six Day event. Sunday we shall see if, Kyle can make it 6-for-6. In the other “B” action the racing has been very clean and competitive with the Red Team of Stephanie Bester, Ryan Aitcheson and Rob Good, holding a slim points lead on the Black Team of Sarah Mckenzie-Picot, Ivan Cernigoy and Lorne Falkenstein. Due to an illness Emily Mckenzie-Picot may not be able to race on Sunday afternoon, time will tell.

Some type of intestinal bug has made it’s way to the infield as a couple of other riders have been sick over the last two nights. In the Elite division, the very entertaining Elimination race saw two experienced riders rubbing elbows coming to the line, with “DD” out sprinting Mike Renneboog in the finale. This extra effort sent Renneboog to the showers as his stomach (intestine) issue forced him to the sidelines for the remainder of the night.

The last chase of 45 minutes again saw the teams on the attack, as over and over the three leading teams seemed to be putting the hurt to the London and Delhi Teams. In the end both teams were able to come back, after sitting off the back for what seemed to be the entire Madison, to get the locals cheering as the two teams un-lapped themselves for the second time. This effort was worth $50. The crowd appreciated the stamina of both teams as they were short-handed and two alternates were forced into service on the night. Thanks to Steve Meyer and Chris Vlemmix for competing on short notice.

In the final sprint for double points a late attack by Crosby of the CanAm Team came within inches of being successful to the line. Team Ontario had other ideas and wanted the points for themselves. Daniele DeFranceschi “DD” made a late move back around Crosby in the final 50m to claim victory on a night that saw the momentum change every few minutes. This can only mean more fireworks for Sunday afternoon at the FCV.

Racing begins at 1pm. It’s not too late to come and watch the skill and determination of all our riders in both the “B” and Elite divisions.

More information can be found at www.ForestCityVelodrome.ca

Results

Day 5 – October 27

A’ Teams

1. Ontario – Daniele Defranceschi (Windsor), Vince DeJong (Brantford) 74 points
2. Can-Am – Garnett Abbey (Burlington), Brian Crosby (Minnesota) 8 points
3. Quebec – Martin Rooseboom (Montreal), Phillipe Raymond (Montreal) 80 points, 1 lap down
4. London – Brandon Throop (London), Scott Lundy (London) 28 points, 2 laps down
5. Delhi – Mike Renneboog (Delhi), Dave Byer (LaSalette/Toronto) 58 points, 4 laps down

B’ Teams

1. Team Red – Rob Good (Waterloo), Ryan Aitcheson (Kitchener), Stephanie Bester (London) 18 points
2. Team Black – Lorne Falkenstein (London), Ivan Cernigoy (London), Sarah McKenzie-Picot (London) 30 points, 1 lap down
3. Team Purple – Joe Brennan (New Jersey), Rob Kowal (New Jersey), Kyle Rupay (Peterborough) 89 points, 2 laps down
4. Team Green – John Craig (Putnam), Jean-Luc Bertrand (Bermuda), Emily McKenizie-Picot (London) 71 points, 4 laps down
5. Team Blue – John Hueston (Aylmer), Rod Olliver (Oakville), Brian Kelly (London) 31 points, 7 laps down