October 07, 2012 (London, ON) – As a bike racing fan, no one went home after night #3 of the Coulier Memorial 6Day race last night without a smile on their face.  Whether the team they were cheering for was in first or last place, the racing was hard, fast, and exciting.   The average speed of the race was again over 47 kph, which includes our points sprints during the first Madison.

All the Madison teams had their game faces on as they were warming up for the evenings events.  The format stays the same each night so that the racers can get a sense of how much time they have to prepare for the events.  One of the nuances of this 6Day event is that we are awarding points for each rider during the night, this means as the team gains 100 points they gain a lap on the field, just by being consistent during the points sprints.  Each night there are 11 opportunities to score up to 7 points for a victory.  This we have found makes the teams have to contest each sprint and keeps the racing fast and furious.

Many more riders were on the infield with a nice group of Velo-Kids taking part in their Handicap tournament, In addition we had our regular B & C division racers out to put on a show throughout the night.

How Night #3 unfolded – Race report
The 18 Madison riders prepared very well over night as all 6 teams were very excited to get the program off the a fast start.  In the first Madison, The Can-Am team (4th Place) were the first to attack, they did not take a lap however the duo of Hanam and Brennan were able to stretch the legs of the top 2 teams (Niagara & London #1).  This jam lasted over 5 minutes and as the teams came together, it was the London #2 team of Geoff Power and Eric McDonald who were successful in lapping the field to take back one of the laps they had lost the previous night.  This was the first 10 minutes of racing and lead into the first points sprints of the night.

2 very exciting sprints had the 2 Top teams split the points and there was nothing gained at the top of the standings, however, there is still quite a battle for 3 – 5th right now.  Team Delhi (Renneboog & Vermeulen), Team Can-Am, and Team London #2… these teams have been attacking one another for the first 2 days of racing and it continued last night.

With double points on offer for the final sprint the teams were trying to position themselves for the final rush to the line.  with 2 minutes to go 3 teams got separation of about a 1/4 lap that never came back together.  The final sprint had Team Niagara (Singleton & Trafford) pip Team London #1 (Mason & Aitcheson) by 1/2 a wheel at the line to score double points and close the distance on the race Leaders.

The official placing for the top 3 teams are, Team London #1 (even laps & 61 points) Team Niagara (even laps & 53 points)… just 8 points separate the top 2 teams.  Team Delhi (-1 lap & 51 points).

Racing continues Thursday evening October 11th at 7pm.  With 4 days to recover the racers will be on the best to put on the best show possible, we encourage all bike race fans to attend the racing next weekend and see what all the fuss is about.

Full results HERE.

For more the Forest City Velodrome click HERE.