1909 Berlin Six-Day post card
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In 1878, the very first six day event was held in London when a cyclist named David Stanton took a bet that he could ride 1,000 miles in six successive days. Later that year, another six day event was held, this time with multiple entrants, however the format did not gain in popularity until 1891, when the idea crossed the Atlantic and the first six day races were held in Madison Square Garden, NYC.
Initially riders would sleep at night, but soon, in an effort to cover as many miles as possible (the winner being the one who had amassed the most miles over the six days), racers would be on their bikes around the clock. Originally conceived as contested as every rider for himself, six days soon evolved to teams of two to meet laws passed restricting the amount of time an athlete could be competing.
In 1909, the very first Berlin Six-Day Race was held (a race that still continues to the present and holds the record for the longest running). This unsent German postcard pictures one of the teams to compete in that inaugural year. On the left, French cyclist Gabriel Poulain, who in July 1921 won a prize of 10,000 francs awarded by Peugeot for a flight of ten meters at a height of one meter, on a bicycle with two wing planes in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. On the right, either Léon or Émile Georget, French brothers who often teamed together for Six-Days. Poulain and Georget took 6th out of 9 teams at this particular event (Floyd MacFarland and Jimmy Moran of the US would win). As the name implies, the duo raced for six straight days trading places on the velodrome, with one always racing and the other taking a break.
Initially riders would sleep at night, but soon, in an effort to cover as many miles as possible (the winner being the one who had amassed the most miles over the six days), racers would be on their bikes around the clock. Originally conceived as contested as every rider for himself, six days soon evolved to teams of two to meet laws passed restricting the amount of time an athlete could be competing.
In 1909, the very first Berlin Six-Day Race was held (a race that still continues to the present and holds the record for the longest running). This unsent German postcard pictures one of the teams to compete in that inaugural year. On the left, French cyclist Gabriel Poulain, who in July 1921 won a prize of 10,000 francs awarded by Peugeot for a flight of ten meters at a height of one meter, on a bicycle with two wing planes in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. On the right, either Léon or Émile Georget, French brothers who often teamed together for Six-Days. Poulain and Georget took 6th out of 9 teams at this particular event (Floyd MacFarland and Jimmy Moran of the US would win). As the name implies, the duo raced for six straight days trading places on the velodrome, with one always racing and the other taking a break.
