Madison, scratch race, points race, and team sprint—these are just a few of the many disciplines that make up track cycling. On the wooden track, where speeds are high and every lap counts, technique, timing, and teamwork converge. The constant search for aerodynamic advantage makes the game even more complex, especially during multi-day events where the disciplines are completed at a rapid pace. This is Velodrome Voices: where we talk to track cyclists about their races, rituals, and everything in between.
Atmosphere during the Six Days
The Rotterdam Six Days. The ultimate race with atmosphere, spectators, and top-level racing, it's a week track cyclists look forward to every year. As Jenna van Tongeren, riding for MTD Woman Cycling and sporting the Airoman gear, puts it, the Six Days is something special: "Track cycling is quite small; we're lucky if there's a hundred spectators at a National Championship. And at the Six Days, the stands are absolutely packed!" She pauses before continuing: "Being a cyclist at the Six Days is truly incomparable to anything else. People step aside for you, clearly loving what you do. It's just awesome that you can pursue your greatest passion in front of other people who also love it!"
Justus Willemsen, who competes for Merida Adelaar Tifosi DT, agrees with Jenna about the atmosphere. "Saturday is especially great; it's the last day for us Talents and also our family day. When you attack, there's so much cheering!"
Fighting for profit and personal improvement
Before the Six Days, Jenna had one goal: to improve from last year. "I had zero points then, so I wanted to do better this time." And she did so with aplomb. Especially in the final points race, where she gained a lap and went from 5 to 29 points. "I improved the longer the Six Days went on." Nevertheless, she adds: "It definitely could have been better, but you almost always say that." What were her areas for improvement? "That's hard to say. It was mainly trying different tactics, which worked better one day than the next. It was a bit of a trial-and-error phase ."
She's taking all her experiences and impressions with her into the future. "To the upcoming competitions—the National Championships are at the end of December—or just to the rest of my career."
Justus came to the Six Days, or for him, the Five Days, with a lot of ambition: "I came to win, because in previous years I've already finished second twice and even won once." Secretly, he had hoped to start in the Elites this year. That ultimately didn't happen, although he was on the list as a reserve . "Maybe next year then, right?" Regarding the races, Justus looks back with mixed feelings: "We started the first day with a win, so that was nice. Only on the second day, my teammate lost a few points to our opponents for the win, so we had to chase." Ultimately, Justus and his teammate finished second in the remaining races, just behind the Swiss, who also won the overall classification. "In the last Madison, they had already reached 100 points, which gave them a free lap lead. We tried to attack, but they were simply stronger."
Justus admitted he was in good physical shape. "The biggest areas for improvement were technical. Our handoffs in the Madison simply weren't going as well, which took a lot of energy." Not surprising, considering Justus and his partner had only trained together once. "Because I know the Swiss were definitely stronger, I can accept it. But happy? No, I'm definitely not."
Late evenings and around the races
The Six Day races were, as always, all late in the evening. Even though Justus, as a Talent, was the first to race, he worked late nights because he was still a reserve for the Elites. "Often, it was almost two o'clock before I even got to bed." He was therefore happy that a late breakfast was available for the riders. "That way we could still sleep until 10 or 11 o'clock." He filled the hours between breakfast and the start of the race with an hour of warm-up cycling and, above all, eating well and plenty of food. "And then, late in the afternoon, back to the track to race!"
Airoman.cc for the marginal gains
Both Jenna and Justus rode their races wearing Airoman gloves, aero socks, and aero overshoes. Jenna: "They survived the entire tournament, even rinsing them in between. That's something I can't say about many other brands." She even tested them in a wind tunnel, where the socks and overshoes clearly scored well on aerodynamics. Justus is also very enthusiastic about the products. The gloves, in particular, receive some extra compliments: "I often struggle with gloves; they're often uncomfortable. But the Airoman.cc ones are fantastic." He adds: "And if you're at the starting line wearing nice white overshoes, you're definitely in a better mood!"
Brief preview
The next few days will be all about getting some quality training in for both riders before the National Championships. Jenna adds: "I also want to get my sleep pattern back on track, because going to bed at two o'clock six days in a row is definitely giving me a bit of jet lag."
Want to keep up with Justus and Jenna (and other Airoman.cc riders)? Follow us on Instagram. @airomaniacyclingclub or read more soon on Airoman.cc !