Six-day events no longer have to last six days, UCI rules

Six-day track racing events are no longer required to last six days, a new UCI rule update suggests.

Starting from 1 January 2025, it appears that six-day events will be allowed to last any duration, be that seven, three or two days.

The new regulation was approved on 27 September by the UCI, and will be put into effect next season. It comes in the form of an abrogation, or cancelling out, of a previous rule that read: “A ‘Six-Day Race’ shall last six consecutive days with at least 24 hours’ racing time.”

Instead, the UCI writes that “the organiser shall be free to set the duration and the programme of the ‘Six-Day Race’ within the limits set in the articles of this section”. The relevant section makes no stipulations about the number of days.

First started in London in the late 19th century, six-day racing has become a staple of the track calendar, with riders often competing in pairs to the backdrop of a party atmosphere. Typical races include the Madison, elimination race, and derny.

Today, among the most famous events are the Six Days of Ghent, scheduled for next week, and the Six Days of Rotterdam, which takes place in December.

According to Tony Gibb, organiser of the new London 3 Day, the rule change comes at a challenging time for track cycling, which has “fallen off a little bit” in popularity.

“You just can’t fill the venues at the moment,” he told Cycling Weekly. “Ghent is like the Monaco of cycling for Formula 1, and they’re always going to fill it. It’s a smaller venue, so they’re great, and Rotterdam as well.

“But we can’t fill Lee Valley [Velodrome] on a Tuesday night. We couldn’t fill it on a Friday night. You’ve got to do stuff and cater for what the people want. At the moment, it’s bite-sized sport, isn’t it?”

The London 3 Day, which ran for the first time last month, sought to bring six-day racing back to the English capital, following the collapse of the London Six Day in 2019. For Gibb, it was “much more viable” to run an event over fewer days. “Our budget was probably £800,000,” he said. “If we did six days, we’d double that.”

Gibb also added that, despite the existing rule, events have had no issue gaining permission to run over fewer days in the past. The Six Days of Bremen, for example, has been held over four days for the previous two years.

“When I was riding six-days, there were 14 throughout the winter,” Gibb said. “You would finish Sunday night, spend Monday driving to the next one, and start again Tuesday night. That was the way it was. It was great. Now, you’ve got Ghent and Rotterdam, which are the only six-day races.

“You’ve got us, which is a three-day, you’ve got Bremen, which is a four-day, you’ve got Berlin, which is down to two days, you’ve got Copenhagen, which is three days.”

Cycling is no stranger to events running over incongruously named dates. On the road, the Four Days of Dunkirk counts six stages, while the historic Three Days of Brugge-De Panne is now a one-day race.

Cycling Weekly has contacted the UCI for comment about the six-day rule change.