Six-day cycling is a track cycling event that takes place over six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initially, individuals competed alone, the winner being the individual who completed the most laps. However, the format was changed to allow teams, one rider racing while the other rested. The 24-hours a day regime has also been relaxed, so that most six-day races involve six nights of racing, typically from 6pm to 2am, on indoor tracks (velodromes). Six-day events are annually hosted in London, Berlin, Ghent, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Manchester, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Racing at the 2007 Six Days of Dortmund
A six-day race at Madison Square Garden II in December 1908
Riders rest in small cabins beside the track when the race is in progress
Riders compete not only in madisons but in subsidiary competitions behind pacers
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.
A track cycling race at the third round of 2014–15 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in the Velódromo Alcides Nieto Patiño in Cali, Colombia
An outdoor track race in Paris in 1908 featuring Major Taylor, the first African-American cyclist to become world champion
Aero Special track bicycle, original, c. 1910
The Manchester Velodrome, a banked Siberian Pine-surfaced track, which has hosted the UCI World Championships on three occasions and home to British Cycling.
