In Copenhagen they call it the New Year's Eve appointment, è the 100KM Madison on December 28th. An almost unique, yet fascinating, test. One hundred kilometers on the track. It seems absurd, madness... Adriano Baffi In his long track career, he's done dozens of them. "So, I've done 16 Six Days of Zurich, so I've bagged at least 32..."
Unique event
The former road and track cyclist, now one of the sporting directors of the Lidl Trek, guides us in the discovery of this particular track test. The venue of the event, the Ballerup Super Arena, 250-meter ring.
"Certainly," says Baffi, "it's a bit of an anachronistic event. Today we're in a moment where race times and distances are increasingly shortening. In my career I've done many 100km races, but why… they were once held as part of the Six Days. And they were done especially in the second part of the week."
In Ghent, Sercu he explained to us how Today the races are all shorter, but the demand for the Madison, or American, races remains strong. But a 100km race isn't easy to fit into the limited and "schizophrenic" schedule of an event like the Six Days. "I've done a lot of 100km races in Zurich, and they were often handicap races." In short, real races.
But what intrigued us most about this format is the preparation and management. How do you fuel? How do you drink? It's not so obvious. Especially in today's cycling, which rightly places so much attention on this aspect, which is closely tied to performance.
"Management starts with the choice of gear ratio," Baffi explains passionately. "Since you're on the track, you have a fixed gear ratio, you can't change. Therefore, you usually tend to use a lighter gear than you would choose on a normal Madison. This allows you to last longer. But it's in a 100KM the strongest truly emerges. And the strongest in a Madison isn't just the one with the best legs. You need to be sharp and focused until the end. And that's not easy."
From baby bottle to malt
Baffi then talks about nutrition. He's a product of his time and almost downplays this aspect. He makes it clear that in his day, people organized themselves ahead of time and that, all things considered, a race like this lasts a couple of hours, not very long.
«You take advantage of the support you have on the trackside. Once upon a time there was the baby bottle – says Baffi – yes, you understood correctly, the one for giving milk to children. Water must not be in water bottles or glasses. It must absolutely not spill on the track. You take that sip during the "rest," that is, while you wait for your partner to replace you. Nowadays, with liquid nutrition, everything is a little more practical. With malts, you drink and eat at the same time.
It's clear that such a unique and rare event doesn't require specific preparation. If anything, it requires more than just aptitude. Baffi explains that a track cyclist who races fast could never do a 100km race. Nor could he do a standard one-hour or 40-minute Madison race, as they often last today.
«The number of candidates for victory is decreasing significantly. If in a one-hour Madison there can be 10 contenders, in a 100KM there are five. You have to be used to spending two hours on a fixed-gear track bike.
«So always keeping pressure on your shoulders, arms, neck… something that develops over the hours of training as a whole. But it's not that you feel that tiredness that makes you collapse or your gear shift arm hurt: there's the adrenaline of the race that sustains you. At least that was the case for me."
«One of the best Six Days, and one that featured the 100KM Madison, was the one in Zurich, as I mentioned. The velodrome was always packed and it was a real party. I came from the street and when I knew I had to do 400 laps I didn't get upset, while other track cyclists, more specialists, were a bit scared. There was that sense of adventure, you had the awareness of doing something different from the usual."
Italians in Copenhagen
In the 100KM Madison in Copenhagen we will also see a bit of Italy. There will be Michele Scartezzini, who will race in tandem with the Danish Matias Malmberg. And perhaps there will also be Simone Consonni ed Elijah Viviani, who should run together. And even among women they are announced Silvia Zanardi, paired with Karolina Karasiewicz, and Francesca Selva, paired with Amalie Winther Olsen.
«A few days ago – says Baffi – we spoke with Marco Villa on the issue of the usefulness of holding these competitions. However, they give something, they are training. In this case, we'll then go racing in Denmark, where track racing is renowned and done in a certain way. It's a different kind of show for the crowds, who will surely be there in droves."
To give you an idea, tickets start at 220 Danish kroner, or 29,5 euros, and go up to 5.210 kroner, or 699 euros.
