Amsterdam 6 Day: Kacey Manderfield -- Nights Four, Five & Six

Night four of the 2010 Amsterdam Six Day, saw the start of the UIV U23 “mini six” which is in fact only three days long. The first Six Day of the winter season is always dangerous as riders nerves run high while they “break the ice” of the Six Day Season. And with this comes the mistakes and the crashes.

No fewer than three separate crashes took place in the first race of the U23 riders. Two riders breaking collarbones and three others leaving the track with serious wood burn. The young inexperienced South African team did well however, in their first European Event, staying out of trouble and staying upright.

In the women’s event, Kacey Manderfield dropped further back to 9th place overall. Manderfield and fellow American Mandy Marquardt (lying 14th overall), are struggling to race against the aggressive European riders. Both are products of the defensive style of racing, seen in most female American track racing. Now in the depth of offensive racing, the riders are struggling to hold their position and put themselves in contention to score points. They will need to adopt a more proactive approach if they want to survive in the European peleton.

In the Sprint tournament, the Americans didn’t fair as well as last night, but Gideon Massie still managed 2nd in the Match Sprints, and Dean Tracy 2nd in the Keirin.

The German pairing of Roger Kluge and Robert Bartko move back into first position in the Six Day, fighting hard against Franco “Marvelous” Marvulli and Dutch National Champion, Nici Terpstra.

***Nights Five & Six:
Amsterdam Six Day – Nights 5 and 6

The last two nights have not done too much in terms of changing the standing in the overall classification. Dutch rider Vera Koedooder is still dominating the fields with wins in both events on Friday Night (Night 5). Irish rider Jennifer O’Rielly, was the only international rider to challenge the Dutch superstar, with a close 2nd place in the points race.



Saturday evenings final night of racing was very fast, as none of the riders felt like they had anything to loose. Koedooder was out of reach with regards to loosing the Six, and could afford to throw caution to the wind with fierce attacks almost from the get go. The remaining riders would do all they could to hang on and hope that the race fragmented enough as to shuffle the over-all standings for the general classification. If Koedooder wasn’t on the front, anyone and everyone else was.

For the Northeast Velodrome rider Kacey Manderfield, the weekend finished in disappointment as she slipped further down the GC to 11th overall, only 1 point behind Samatha Van Steenis and a top 10 placing. The crash on the very first night had a major impact on Manderfield who was clearly not her confident self as the week progressed.

“Kacey is a good rider who doesn’t usually get intimidated by close quarter riding,” said her coach Kurt Begemann. “But anyone who falls down from the top of a 52 degree banked track at 25 mph is going to be shaken for a few days. It’s a pity it went that way, but that’s racing”, said Begemann.

For the Northeast Velodrome and Cycling Park, they can say that they had a rider represented in a European Pro Six Day Event. Not too many Velodromes in the US can say they are sponsoring homegrown talent and helping them get over-seas experience. Hopefully this is a first step in fostering more riders into the European Six Day Scene.

For the American Sprinters, they capped the week off well, with Gideon Massie finishing 2nd overall in the Sprinters Cup. Dean Tracy took home 4th, and Andy Lakatosh finished 6th overall in his first European Six Day. Tracy and Massie will be invited back to Holland in January 2011, to compete at the Rotteram Six Day.



Overall Standings:
Overall Standings: Zesdaagse van Amsterdam.


EINDSTAND ZESDAAGSE VAN AMSTERDAM 2010
P Professional Teams (MEN) RND PT
1 Kluge/Bartko (DUI) 0 285
2 Stam/Van Bon 0 247
3 Marvulli/Terpstra (ZWI/NED) 0 236
4 Stroetinga/Lampater (NED/GER) 1 213
5 Ligthart/Mouris 1 162
6 Havik/Schep 4 172
7 Mertens/De Ketele (BEL) 6 108
8 J.Pronk/M.Pronk 12 71
9 Van der Zwet/Stöpler 13 103
10 R.Kreder/M.Kreder 14 65
11 Kneisky/Marguet (FRA/ZWI) 24 87
12 Hester/Traksel 24 58
13 Veldt/Jonkman 30 87
14 Vermeulen/Pieters 35 76

EINDSTAND SPRINT CUP
P Pro Sprinters PT
1 Teun Mulder 21
2 Giddeon Massie (V.S) 30
3 Yondi Schmidt 44
4 Dean Tracy (V.S) 55
5 Hugo Haak 57
6 Andy Lakatosch (V.S) 64
7 Matthijs Buchli 65


EINDSTAND VROUWEN ZESDAAGSE
P Women PT
1 Vera Koedooder 180
2 Roxanne Knetemann 88
3 Kelly Markus 68
4 Jennifer O'Reilly (IER) 44
5 Nina Kessler 35
6 Ilona Meijering 31
7 Birgitta Roos 28
8 Lotte van Hoek 17
9 Silvie Haakman 15
10 Samantha van Steenis 13
11 Kacey Manderfield (V.S) 12
12 Nathaly van Wesdonk 7
13 Joan Boskamp 2
14 Ymke Stegink 0
15 Mandy Marquardt (V.S) 0

Amsterdam 6 Day: Kacey Manderfield -- Night Three

The third night of racing has so far, been the most exciting night, of the 2010 Amsterdam Six Day.

In the Sprint Tournament, Andy Lakatosh came through for the U.S. with a win against World Champion Tuen Mulder. Lakatoshs’ win comes as the second victory for a U.S. rider behind Gideon Massie's win in the Keirin from night two.

Dutch rider Hugo Haak made a tremendous save when his tubular tire burst shortly after the finish line in the sprint semi final. Haak had to control the bike as the back wheel went side ways and he began fish tailing down the 45 degree banking at 40 miles per hour. Pim Ligthart also had a flat tire in the last derny race of the night and narrowly avoided being hit by two “motors” as he snaked his way down the banking and onto the apron.

In the women’s event, Northeast Velodrome rider Kacey Manderfield placed well in the Points race with a 6th place out of the 14 riders, but failed to place high enough in the Scratch or Elimination to score any more points on the night. This dropped her back to 8th over-all on general classification with Vera Koedooder still leading.

The Dutch pairing of Pim Ligthart and Jens Mouris (4th in the Vuelta Prologue) are leading the men’s tournament after 3 nights down and three remaining.

Amsterdam 6 Day: Kacey Manderfield -- Night Two

The second night of the 2010 Amsterdam Six Day is over, and there has been a few small shuffles on the leader board. Dutch rider Vera Koedooder is still in the lead, with fellow countrywomen Roxane Knetemann and Kelly Markus in 2nd and 3rd. The Irish rider Jennifer O’reilly drops to 4th.

There were no crashes tonight at all, and the UIV U23 men, and the women spaced themselves further apart after last night's mêlée. This made for difficult racing, as it is always difficult to come from behind on the small European Tracks. Both American riders Mandy Marquardt and Kacey Manderfiled were caught behind in the points race on almost every sprint and finished out of the points.

Manderfield had a better race in the 2nd event of the night when she finished 6th on the 25 lap Points race. This moved her up one spot to 7th overall at the end of the evening. The Elimination race (Miss & Out) was quick from the gun with both Americans being eliminated first and second, but luckily had no impact on the overall classification.

“With three laps to go before the race began, the girls were already close to race speed,” said Manderfield's coach Kurt Begemann. “If you don’t start a Miss & Out near the front, you will be eliminated in the first few riders. It’s always fast in the beginning of the race. It’s the way the peleton gets rid of the non-contenders. Kacey will need to refocus on starting near the front, if she wants to finish near the front," said Begemann.

Amsterdam 6 Day: Kacey Manderfield -- Night One

The first night of racing at the 2010 Amsterdam Six Day started with a bang. Literally, as after the first sprint, and on the 14th lap of 50, three riders collided and two went down. One of them being Kacey Manderfield.

Manderfield was doing well, having scored points in the very first sprint of the 50 lap points race with a third place on lap 10. As a change in pace occurred, there was a re-shuffle and riders swung high, without “head-checking,” wheels touched and riders fell.

Missing the next two sprints, as she dusted herself off and straightened her bars, Manderfield immediately got back in and contested the final two sprints finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. The second race of the night, the 20 lap Scratch race saw Kacey attack with 8 to go. The others were fairly quick to respond and with 3 to go she was brought into the fold and finished back of the pack as the riders swarmed her for the finish.

The final race of the women’s Six was the Elimination (Miss & Out) where Manderfiled rode from the back and managed to finish 6th. Battered and bruised, Manderfield returned to the locker room in less than stellar mood. “It’s frustrating to start the Six this way, with a crash on the first night. I’m feeling O.K., but just frustrated that it started this way,” said Kacey.

At the end of the first night Manderfiled lies in 8th place overall with Dutch rider Vera Koedooder leading the event. Racing resumes Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.

Cycle Loft Pro Kacey Manderfield Races in Europe

U.S. pro track rider Kacey Manderfield has been contracted to represent The Northeast Velodrome and Cycling Park in this weeks Six Days of Amsterdam.

Manderfield left last week for a two-week trip to Europe, which will include races in Milan, Italy, and Amsterdam, Holland. Manderfield a pro on the Cycle Loft UCI Track Team, finished 4th on Friday night’s “Red Hook – Milan” criterium.

Manderfield who won the original “Red Hook Criterium” in New York, two years ago, was invited to the first “Red Hook – Milan” on Friday night. Both “Red Hook” crits are downtown style crits raced on pure track bikes with no brakes.

Tonight begins the start of the winter Six Day Track Season, with the Six Days of Amsterdam running from the 18th to the 23rd October. Northeast Velodrome Director and Manderfield's personal manager and coach, Kurt Begemann, will join her today for what hopes to be a good week of racing.

As is the case with all Pro Six Day contracts, Manderfield will enter the Six as an independent contractor and will race for an assigned sponsor for the Six Days. “We knew she was going to get a ride in Amsterdam after her 6th place in Rotterdam, last winter,” said Begemann. “We also had the opportunity through a private investor to purchase a team for the Six Day. It made sense to ask the promoters to put our rider into the team, rather than have Kacey racing for a Dutch Sponsor and having a European rider racing for The Northeast Velo.” Said Begemann.

Northeast Velodrome patrons John Laupheimer, Greg Pellegrino and Bill Beyer will join Begemann in attending the Amsterdam Six day for the final two nights of racing. The three will be attending the Six as VIP’s with an insiders look at European Velodromes and the Six-Day scene. Please take a look at the Amseterdam Six Day site.

Sally Annis takes 1st & 2nd at Providence Weekend

Local Elite Women's rider, Sally Annis, had a fantastic weekend at the Providence Cyclocross Festival last week, take 1st place on Day 1, and 2nd place on Day 2. Sally has been a weekly participant at the Wednesday Night Training Series at the Northeast Velodrome since mid-September. When asked about the course, Sally commented, "Alot of work has been done to improve the Northeast Velodrome Corss Course. It provides a great mid-week training session. My technical skills and fitness improve every time I ride the course."

With the 2010 Northeast Velocross Race approaching on Saturday, November 20, you can't help but think that Sally is definitely planning to have home field advantage over her competition for that race. As a potential tuneup for Nationals later in the season, odds are that Sally will be on form come Velocross, especially considering she'll know the course by heart--both backwards and forwards.

Join Sally for the last 3 weeks of Wednesday Night Training at the Velocross course. The Cycling Park opens at 4pm on Wednesdays through the end of October. Congrats Sally, and good luck for the rest of the season.

Velocross 2010: November 20, 2010

Velocross 2010 will take place on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at the Northeast Velodrome & Cycling Park. Promoted in conjunction with the Northeast Bicycle Club, Velocross will be held on a course that includes the banked velodrome, its infield, a wooded section including a bridge crossing and run up, as well as portions of gravel road and the Northeast BMX track. The course has been considerably revised over past years by reversing previous course direction, constructing a new bridge, widening the wooded section, as well as smoothing and grading of the infield sections. The course diagram drawn by Velodrome Director, Kurt Begemann.
This mile-long course will run quite fast, and who knows, given the weather. The cycling park is a great venue for easy and quick access of the all the racing for spectators. Additionally, racers can have a great weekend of local 'cross racing with Shed Park on Sunday in nearby Lowell, MA. Please check Bikereg.com for all racing categories and event details. We look forward to seeing you in November. And don't forget that Wednesday night training is running through the end of October. Get a home field advantage by training on the same course that will be used fo racing in November; it's a great opportunity!

Final Results for Season Post

Final results have been posted for the following 2010 Velodrome events:

*Super Sunday Racing Series
*Weekly Omnium Series
*Weekly Pursuit Series
*Masters State Championships
*Junior State Championships
*Elite State Championships

Super Sunday Results Posted

All results from this season's Super Sunday Race series have been posted:
http://northeastvelo.com/about/results-pg54.htm