Dutch Treat: the 2013 European Elite Track Racing Championships

Apeldoorn in the Netherlands is a not terribly distinguished place although it does boast the nearby country residence of the Dutch royal family but in the cycling-mad Netherlands it does offer something special: the Omnisport sports facility. I was there in October for the European track championships and following the one-track minds of some of the world's top racers.

Driving into Apeldoorn (population 157,057 and twinned with Burlington, Ontario) it looks pretty much like anywhere else in the province of Gelderland until you pass the gigantic bicycle on the main road and then another on entering Omnisport. The inhabitants of the Netherlands are the tallest in the world, but still...

Omnisport Apeldoorn, opened in 2008, is an impressive facility with a hall seating 2000 for volleyball and a 250 m velodrome seating 5000, the latter being the venue for the 2011 UCI World Track Racing Championships as well as the European Championships that year. It also offers an ice-skating rink for winter plus the usual concessions. 

The European Elite Track Championships are a surprisingly recent event, first held in 2010. Previously the European competition was only for junior and U-23 but the change was made after a review of Olympic qualification brought about a wholesale structural reorganization. Regulated by the European Cycling Union the program includes all the 2012 Olympic track events as well points races for men and women as the big finale: a men's madison because, well, people like it.

Great Britain leads the cumulative medal standings since 2010 with 24, including 13 gold, while Germany is close behind with 23 (10 gold) and tied with Russia, which also has won 23 but only seven gold. At the races in Apeldoorn this year 24 nations were represented and covering most of the world powers in track racing: Britain, Germany, Russia, France, Ukraine and of course the Netherlands. At the other end of the spectrum, Slovakia sent a single rider while the Hungarians numbered two. Gold medallists from the 2013 Worlds in Minsk were plentiful and in many respects the European Championships are almost another Worlds but without the United States, China, Australia and some individual non-European standout riders.

After a training day the Championships opened on October 18 with the Men's and Women's Team Pursuit and Team Sprint races, along with the Points Race. The British men (Doull, Burke, Clancy Tennant) took gold in the pursuit ahead of Russia and the Netherlands, while the women's race saw Britain (Trott, King, Barker, Archibald) also win, with Poland and Russia next. In the Team Sprints, the German men (Enders, Förstemann, Levy) came first ahead of France and Russia while the World Champion German women were not able to hold off the Russian pair (Brejniva, Stretsova) but did come ahead of the British. Points winners were Elia Viviani of Italy on the men's side and Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands for the women. Already on the first day the home nation had improved its medal standing with a gold and a bronze compared to Minsk, where the Dutch finished with a single disappointing bronze.

Day 2 of competition saw lots of Sprint qualifying events as well as the start of the Omnium, with flying laps, points race and elimination race. There was a lot of very exciting racing although the stands were fairly empty for most of this Saturday afternoon and evening. At the end of the day medals were presented for the Men's and Women's Sprints. The Germans had made a very strong showing but on the men's side some tactical mistakes were made and relegations came near the end, with World Champion Stefan Bötticher finishing out of the medals and Robert Förstemann, with the most impressive thighs in cycling, also being relegated so that he took the silver medal after Russia's Denis Dmitriev, who had finished second in Minsk.

Kristina Vogel prepares to overtake a Russian competitor in the sprint

Stefan Bötticher trackstands with a Spanish rival

Robert Förstemann warming up

On the women's side there was no doubt at all who was the fastest rider as Germany's Kristina Vogel, who won silver in Minsk in this discipline, easily outrode her rivals to win gold but a brave effort was made by Elis Ligtlee as she earned the third medal of the competition for the Dutch with silver (and having a wildly enthusiastic crowd behind her) and Jessica Varnish took the bronze for the UK.

Kristina Vogel leading Elis Ligtlee in the sprint final

Kristina Vogel, the newly-jerseyed European Sprint Queen

 On the final day of the Championships the stands filled up with spectators and there was a special exhibition organized by classic bicycle enthusiast Harrie Hofstede of vintage track racing bicycles. After he spread the word collectors brought in nearly 30 old steel bikes, including a very early (1903) stayer bike, a gorgeous 1934 Ernie Russ, a shaft drive bicycle and a wonderful Raleigh. The crowds that gathered around were very enthusiastic and peppered owners with questions and, in some cases, reminiscences of their own track days.

My Bauer Super Sport was not out of place

The glorious shaft drive

The racing on the track continued with more Omnium events (individual pursuit, scratch and individual time trials) and qualification and finals for the keirin and madison. Final results in the Men's Omnium saw Viktor Manakov take gold for Russia, followed by Tim Veldt for the home nation and Ireland's Martyn Irvine (World Champion in the Scratch Race) came in third. Laura Trott (silver medallist in Minsk) of Britain was the best woman, followed by Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands and Jolien D'Hoore of Belgium on the podium. There was also Dutch success in the keirin as the Women's Sprint results were reversed with Elis Ligtlee getting gold ahead of Kristina Vogel, followed by Virginie Cueff riding for France. Germany's medal count continued as Maximilian Levy won gold in the keirin with a powerful performance ahead of the UK's Jason Kenny (reversing their standings at the World's in Minsk) and France's François Pervis.

Swiss rider setting off on his time trial during the Omnium

British rider after completing his Omnium pursuit ride and barely able to stay upright from fatigue

Starting the women's keirin

Women's keirin racers setting off with the derny pacemaker

The last event was the extraordinary madison race, a veritable circus of colour and speed with 32 riders, paired in 16 teams, slung each other around the track 200 times in a 50 km event. In the centre of the velodrome on a raised platform was a man with evening wear, including a top hat, who job was to point at the leading cyclist since it was easy to get confused as the racers attempted to lap the field and get sprint points. In the end the Spanish duo of Juane and Barcelo were relegated for unsportsmanlike conduct in the 7^th sprint (the madison is not a race for the faint-hearted) and Italy took gold ahead of them with Viviani and Bertazzo triumphant. Belgium's De Ketele and Van Hoecke won bronze. Interestingly, in this non-Olympic discipline the other track powers (UK, Germany, Netherlands) were pretty much at the bottom of the standings.

At the end of the competition Germany took three gold and three silver medals, while Great Britain (the dominant force in track racing for the last several years) also had an excellent time with three gold, two silver and three bronze. Russia was third with six but the home town crowd must have been delighted the Dutch haul of two gold, three silver and one bronze. Clearly it pays to ride those big bicycles...

Maximilian Levy (centre) of Germany celebrates his keirin victory

In November many of the same racers assembled in Manchester for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup and there were many repeat winners, including Kristina Vogel (gold in keirin, sprint and team sprint), Laura Trott (Omnium), the British men's pursuit team and the German men's sprint team. The art and science of track racing at the elite level is not everywhere to be seen but don't pass up the chance to see it if you can. The racing is exciting and even a bit dizzying at time but it is all out in front of you. The bikes with no brakes and single gears are stripped down and the competition is just as direct.

Book Review: “Wiener Mechanikerfahräder 1930-1980”

 

Vienna: it conjures up images of schnitzel, strudel and Johann Strauss waltzes but a new book from a tradition-rich publishing house in the Austrian capital reveals another aspect of the city now nearly forgotten: the construction of bicycles, often in tiny workshops and to a surprisingly high technical and aesthetic standard.  The book “Wiener Mechanikerräder 1930-1980” confirms its authors’ contention that “Vienna is big but the range of its bicycle manufacturers was once even bigger.”

In 1930 Vienna had more than 100 makes of bicycle and for the next half-century brands would come and go.  The marques in this book, teutonically organized from “Alpenrad” to “Ziel” by the four (!) authors, have been painstakingly researched and the heading of each chapter indicates when the company existed, who owned it, how long the brand was in production, the location of the workshop, whether the firm produced its own bikes or brought in bikes under its own name from elsewhere and sources of information.  The effort to uncover all of these things must have been daunting and indicative of the fanatical obsession of collectors of which the authors are representative.  One of them owns 85 racing bikes.  Reference is made to the “tide of bikes” occupying basements and that during research for the book the authors managed to accumulate 16 more bicycles and eight frames!

 

 

From the number of brands it seems as if pretty much every Viennese bicycle shop must have had its own production as the beautifully-produced volume is over 350 pages in length.  This is understandable perhaps as in the Age of Steel building up a bike was a fairly straightforward tube-brazing operation with components coming from a few large suppliers.  In the winter months the shops could be occupied with production for the coming year.  However, the imaginative Austrians were not limited in their cycling vision and some of the bikes featured here have aluminum lugs screwed into lightweight steel tubes or aerodynamically-shaped tubing or even a leaf spring suspended frame.  There were folding bikes and aluminum children’s bikes and bicycles with jewel-like paint finishes.  It is proper that this book is Volume 2 in the series “Austrian Technical History.”

 

"Wiener Mechanikerfahräder” has a charming, personal touch to it, perhaps because the companies and framebuilders really were so individual.  One is struck by the brand names.   Some, such as “Williams,”  “the Champ,” “Sussex” or “Champion” were meant to convince buyers that they perhaps reflected the glory of English manufacturers.  But a larger group used the names of the builders, usually taking the first two initials of the first and last names.  Hence: BBW (Bruno Beranke Wien); Capo (Otto Cap); Elan (Eduard Lachnit); Er-We (Eduard Reininger); FAB (Fahrradhaus Adolf Blum); FH (Franz Hrabalek); Frado (Franz Dorfinger); Frigo (Friedrich Gollerstepper); Friha (Friedrich Hamedl); Geoga (Georg Gartner); Igro (Josef Grosstab); JoWi (Josef Wilfing); Mipf (Michael Pfeiffer); and so forth. 

 

In addition to the racing bicycles one would expect to find there are plenty of lady’s road bikes, the odd bike used for indoor ball games and some very cool children’s bikes, including one that could alternatively be used as a scooter.  Some of the companies offered a wide product line.  The producers of the “Select” brand, which made its own bicycles from 1947 until at least the 1980s, offered track and road bikes of excellent quality and the book features thirteen of them, including a remarkable bike meant for mountain road racing and built with a split seat tube to allow a very short wheelbase by moving the rear wheel forward, an idea taken up in these later times of composites by others using curved seat tubes.  “Select” enjoy the services of a virtuoso framebuilder, Michael Steinkellner, whose “S” initial was placed on the seatstays.

 

In addition to the excellent full colour photographs of Philipp Horak there are vintage black-and-white photos showing the cycling scene in Vienna in the period covered in the book, with lots of local race meets and local heroes.  The accompanying text is quite interesting as well and often reveals the sly humour of the Viennese.  If you don’t read German you will miss that but the quality of the book and the wealth of photos certainly obviates the need to go for language classes.

 

The old bike hobby is a niche within the greater cycling community, which in itself (at least as far as racing bicycles go) is simply a larger niche.  Upon learning of this book we thought that this must be the most obscure topic that anyone could write about (and we own three books on the history of variable gearing).  French, Italian and English builders have had global fame but, as the book admits, the brands highlighted here were “world-famous in Vienna.”  The book is of very high quality and not inexpensive but the publisher has told us that more than half of the print run of “Wiener Mechanikerfahräder” has already been sold although the book only was published this year.  And of course if you don’t want to shell out the 59 Euros (approx. US$ 83) plus shipping for the book you can order a lovely calendar featuring photographs from it for 19.95 Euros and shipping. 

The subtext of the book is “From Zero to One Hundred to Zero.”  Of the 100 different brands described only one company, Capo, still exists.  Yet there is hope as there is a brief chapter on the brave few framebuilders who are working in Vienna today, including Peter Gross although another, Hans Pöllhuber, who operates a store and workshop, has given up framebuilding himself as uneconomic. 



Many of the builders and brands in the book are known only from a single frame and the authors present a number of mystery frames they have found and invite readers to send them any information about them they might have.  Another personal touch.

 

“Wiener Mechanikerfahräder 1930-1980” might be about an obscure era to anyone outside of Vienna but this book is a true labour of love and a source of great entertainment if you like old bicycles and want to dip into a different world around them.  “World-famous in Vienna” deserves to be just world-famous and would make an excellent gift, ideal for browsing through on those long winter evenings while enjoying a Café Melange mit Schlagobers.

For more information and to order the book or calendar go to:

http://www.wiener-machanikerraeder.at/ or http://www.hollinek.at/

“Wiener Mechanikerfahräder 1930-1980”

by Michael Zappe, Walter Schmidl, Martin Strubreiter and Werner Schuster,

 with photos by Philipp Horak

347 pp, ill. With text in German

ISBN 978-3-85119-342-8

Verlag Brüder Hollinek, Purkersdorf, Austria, 2013

59 Euros, plus shipping

Yet More Heroics: L'Eroica 2013

Italy: land of sunshine, pasta, Fausto Coppi and home of the ultimate retro-ride.  L’Eroica, “the Heroic,” saw its 17^th running on October 6, 2013 and of course I was there joining the lucky participants enjoying some fine weather, some great food and some truly terrible roads on heavy bicycles with inappropriate gearing and  lousy brakes.  What could be better?

L’Eroica Vintage began in 1997 when a band of 82 cyclists, dedicated to preserving the historic Strade Bianca, or white gravel roads, of Tuscany set off on a ride to commemorate the brave and hardy racers who challenged each other and the hilly terrain in those pre-asphalt days.  The region, hilly with vineyards and impressive villas, is home to Chianti Classico and a professional race sponsored by what must be the oldest bank in the universe.  This race might be considered the Italian equivalent of the Tour of Flanders in terms of difficulty and has been won by such luminaries as Fabian Cancellara and Philippe Gilbert.  But those guys have team cars following and closed roads and bikes with working brakes and clipless pedals.  L’Eroica Vintage (there is also a running event as well as a permanent route) eschews all that.  The rules require a pre-1987 steel bike, downtube shifters (if your bike has multiple gears at all!), non-aero cable routing and pedals with straps and toe clips.  And the number of enthusiasts dragging their ancient Olmos or Legnanos or Bianchis out of the basement has increased to the point where registration is limited to 5,000 riders and foreigners under 60 need to enter a lottery to participate.

Early morning start

My friend Tom and I made the long trek southwards in a very small car packed with our gear, a Batavus and a Peugeot jammed into the back.  After an afternoon riding around in Bavaria we crossed the Alps into Austria (meeting some surprisingly heavy traffic en route) before autostrading our way across the flat plain of Northern Italy where we actually saw the infamous Lamborghini police car.  As we entered Tuscany the scenery became much more attractive although the highway became bone-jarringly dreadful. A portent of things to come?  With some relief we turned off near Siena and followed the tiny, twisty (but well-paved) roads.  Then the GPS said “turn here!” and we then had a chance to see what driving a white road was all about as we bounced along 4 kms of rough gravel that became ever-rougher to get to our rural agriturismo inn.  It was somewhat more, uh, rustic that we had expected but they had their own wine and a simple and inexpensive restaurant so all was well with the world. 

 

The next morning was Friday and time to get warmed up!  We unpacked the retrocycles and headed back out on the horrible road, getting covered with dust when the occasional car drove by, until we reached the main road and blessed pavement.  Entering the village of Vagliagli we had a very steep little climb and soon found ourselves on more gravel.  The roads were really not so bad, albeit dusty, and they took us past many vineyards and isolated houses.  14 kms of riding (but it felt like more) brought us to Castellina in Chianti, one of the three Classico towns, where we adjourned for breakfast at a bar before enjoying a fast downhill before a genuinely brutal climb in soft gravel and dirt from Santa Maria a Grignano (where we admired a trailer load of purple grapes) to Panzano in Chianti and lunch in village which consisted of three restaurants full of English-speakers, a church and not much else.  But now we had a fantastic descent into Radda along a beautiful road with gentle switchbacks and then on to the main attraction: Gaiole in Chianti.

Gaiole is the nerve centre of l’Eroica, a town of 2,500 that is the start and finish of the various routes offered.  It was estimated this year that the registered participants plus family and friends totally around 15,000, so needless to say the little town was bursting at the seams.  I thought it would be easier than doing it on Saturday so received my number and start kit but Tom had not brought any identification so he had to leave empty-handed for one day anyway.  We took a quick look at the vendors’ stalls but decided to keep going and finish the warm-up ride.

At 59 kms Tom became so obsessed with the fact that a jockey wheel on my rear derailleur was missing teeth that engaged in discussion as we were we did not notice that we had passed our turn.  We had a pleasant uphill climb to San Sano, which appears to have more cats than any other place in Europe, before realizing our mistake.  We thought going on to Lecchi would help but that was wrong too but at least there was an opportunity to buy something to drink.  And unexpectedly meet someone who called me by name.  It is a small world when it comes to retro riding!

But not so small when you still have to get home and there is at least another climb.  We backtracked and soon enough were back at our inn, 74 km in our legs and a crazy 1558 meter of climbing on our dusty bikes.  We had ridden much of the 75 km official l’Eroica route; there is a shorter one of 38 kms and then the longer routes of 135 kms (which we had chosen for Sunday) and the Big Kahuna: 205 kms.  There was much wine consumed that evening in the company of the equally afflicted as we met cyclists from Germany, Britain and Sweden.

Registratrion madness

Saturday was a washout, truly.  We had torrential rain for 24 hours and this was a major disappointment.  Hanging around Gaiole, checking out the vendors and meeting retro enthusiasts from all over the world is a great experience, as I discovered in 2011.  However, the heavy rain and the extremely dense crowds (all 15,000 people wanted to get into the registration hall at the same time, it seemed) were enough that after getting Tom’s number and kit we beat a hasty retreat to the car and left after only an hour.  We did buy some produce from the Saturday market (sun-dried tomatoes and lots of local honey) but that was all.  Luckily the rain let up enough that we could make an excursion by car to Monteriggioni, a fortress village built in the 13^th Century by the Sienese as a strategic point in their endless war with Florence.  We enjoyed a walk around the walls and some superb pizza before the rain returned.  During dinner at the inn the heavens truly opened up and we grimly considered what the morning would bring for the Big Ride, although we found some solace in more wine.

After a restless night, we were up at 4 am (!) and were happy to see stars, suggesting that the clouds had dispersed.  We drove down to Gaiole, joined by dozens of other cars, most with roof racks loaded with vintage bikes.  We made our way through the crowded street to the main parking lot (which Tom thought look threateningly muddy for an underpowered car) and put our bikes together.  Here I discovered that the bracket for my essential headlight was missing a fastener and my front brake cable had come loose.  Luckily there are helpful mechanics on-site and after navigating the chaos that is the l’Eroica start we had our cards stamped and rolled off into the cold morning darkness.  Not totally dark as we were surrounded by other cyclists with seriously bright lights, intimidating the automobile traffic.



At 5 kms we made a left hand turn and began the steady climb towards the Brolio castle which, at 508 m ASL, is actually the highest point in the ride.  Brolio is a particularly noted name in the Tuscan wine world and the castle dominates the very extensive vineyards from its impressive summit.  One of the highlights of my 2011 ride was the climb up to the castle on the gravel road lined with lit candles but, sadly, this tradition seems to have been abandoned.  Once at the top we began one of the more treacherous descents of the climb, not helped by the muddy road but we were encouraged by the rising sun.

We continued to follow the dirt and gravel road, the first of ten such stretches were to face during the day.  The weather had been forecast to be poor but the threat of rain had been shifted to the afternoon and we rode in the dawn light at a reasonable pace.  Surprisingly, the heavy rain the day before had not left pools of water but instead the gravel roads had drained well and there was little if any dust.  As it turned out we never did get the promised rain.

After the village of Pianella our route turned west and we skirted around Siena and Isola d’Arabia on excellent roads before joining another long stretch of gravel that brought us to the flyspeck village of Radi at 48 kms and our first food stop.  The food stops are justly celebrated as in addition to the usual sorts of things you would expect on an organized ride there is Tuscan pastry, Chianti wine and, just like the old days, raw eggs provided by a farmer with a basket.  The Radi stop was mobbed but we stayed long enough to replenish our water bottles and get some food in preparation for the next segment.  A real problem with old bikes (in addition to the poor brakes and stupid pedals) is that most only have provision for a single water bottle rather than two as on more modern bikes and in the Italian heat you want to stay hydrated.

After Radi we had some very difficult stretches where the road was often poor gravel, very steep or, worst of all, washed-out mud and very steep.  In previous years the numbers of riders had been limited to 3500 but with 5000 this year there was a marked difference as not a few cyclists were more enthusiastic than prudent.  There was plenty of dangerous riding as people tried to force their way onto the better stretches of road Roubaix-style and one of group was hit by one of these careless riders.  This certainly reduced the enjoyment as you had to concentrate on keeping your line rather than admiring the Tuscan scenery.

We headed east to Ponte d’Arbia and then further to the next food stop at Ascania at Km 85.  Instead of the stop being next to the main road outside of the town as it was in 2011 the stop was right in the middle of the town, requiring us to move through masses of people to get our cards stamped.  It was worth it of course because Ascanio is where you get the wonderful Tuscan white bean and bread soup, ribollito.  It is cooked in big cauldrons over wood fires and handed, with a shot of olive oil, to you by ladies in period costumes.  We sat on some stone steps and enjoyed the hearty fare but I warned Tom that the next stretch would be brutal.  When I told him that it would take me 2 hours to ride 18 kms he laughed in disbelief.

Climbing 120 m in 8 km does not sound so difficult but the road from Ascanio to Mont Sainte Marie is very loose large-stone gravel or soft earth and it is necessary to ride up and down three hills before the summit.  It is here that the downhill is far worse than the uphill sections but this year I had made an effort to outfit myself with shoes suitable for walking rather than the super-stiff cleated vintage shoes I had used before.  I was joined by many others who did not have the strength, gearing or bravery to attempt riding sections of this wretched road.  Although many stopped at the sign at the top of the hill I continued, knowing there was more to come.

At Torre a Castello (Km 98) we rejoined the asphalt road with indescribable joy.  There was a fire station at the intersection and a fountain where we could refill our bottles as we set out for the next food stop at Castelnuovo Beradenga (Km 103).  Even though we were riding on good asphalt there was more climbing and a headwind and the day was beginning to feel long.  But soon Castelnuovo’s sizeable presence was visible and we tore through the narrow streets and into the delightful main square.  1:50 from Ascanio so at least I beat the 2 hours!

Cards stamped, food enjoyed, a brief chat with a retired American from Colorado and we were on our way again.  The next segment offered some superb descending on excellent roads and we made up time that had been lost on the Strade Bianche.  Riding northwest we passed through San Piero and then rejoined our outbound route at Pianella at Km 114.  Only 21 kms left to go!

Riding back up to the Brolio castle I was struck by how much less pleasant the gravel road seems than it did early in the morning in the other direction.  It was hot and dusty as we passed the endless vineyards and progress was glacial but finally we rode into the castle driveway and then down to the main road.  It was a very fast ride back over the last 10 kms and soon we were in Gaiole, dusty and triumphant and riding up the finishing ramp to claim our bottles of special label Chianti.  The village was a madhouse and it took some effort to get through the crowds and back to our car.

Returning to our country inn we drove behind a row of tired cyclists, brave souls still doing the 205 km route, the real l’Eroica which is permanently signposted.  We had completed 135 kms with 2300 m of climbing and that was plenty for me.  My moving speed had been 16.4 km/h and I had been on the road for 10 hours and 9 minutes.  There had been great moments and some depressing ones when, frankly, I did not feel much like a lottery winner but the l’Eroica experience is something special.  So special that the idea is being franchised and 2014 will see l’Eroica events in England and Japan.  And so special that it has inspired many more retro-rides, including at least 13 in Italy itself.  Having done l’Eroica twice and in excellent weather both times (and with no flats!) I am satisfied but do not feel the need to do it again.  Open roads beckon elsewhere and the familiar sound of squealing brake pads and panic stops will continue to echo around the world.

For more information: www.eroica.it