As a delicious icing on the cake left from our last trip to the exciting Lotto Zesdaagse in Ghent, CyclingQuotes brings you an interview with one of the most experienced and accomplished riders of the Six Day circuit, Leif Lampater. Unsurprisingly, the 31-year old German was a true pleasure to talk to and willingly shared a deep insight into a current situation of cycling in the biggest European country.

 

Unlike many other Six Day competitors – willing to be left in peace during short periods of rest while their partners are participating in individual disciplines – visibly relaxed Lampater agreed to talk with me in his box, listening to live music performed by a lush blonde clad in a pink sequin dress and receiving a massage in the same time.

 

Forced to kneel on the floor and literally lean over the 31-year old German comfortably lying on a couch - usually shared with his partner for that event, Silvan Dillier – because of a huge noise, I tried my best not to get too overwhelmed by his ridiculously blue eyes while he was specifically explaining relations between insufficient involvement of the German media in cycling and current condition of Six Day events…

 

 

“I hope that the German television will start broadcasting cycling again.”

 

The biggest European country was once a home for most the Six Days, but a situation changed dramatically after the discipline had been stigmatized by German media because of the sins of past two decades.

 

„As a German I should probably speak for the German Six Day. I mean, the situation in cycling is not easy at the moment, it applies to the road cycling as well in Germany,” Lampater pointed out in the beginning of our conversation.

 

As most of those truly exciting track races has already been removed from the calendar or reduced from six to four days, only events in Bremen and Berlin are still organized. However, their place in the calendar prevents biggest road cyclists from participating, what makes turning them into an organizational and financial success extremely difficult.

 

It may seem obvious that remarkable achievements of a new wave of German riders in likes of Marcel Kittel, John Degenkolb or Tony Martin should positively affect an approach of media to the discipline in the country. However, the 31-year old Six Days specialist revealed that the national television is rather reluctant to show cycling in a new light.

 

“It’s definitely starting and I hope that the German television – because they’re so important for a marketing side of cycling in Germany – they will start broadcasting cycling again, obviously starting with the Tour. The whole cycling in hanging on that situation,” Lampater explained.  “If it’s getting a positive showing in the public [the situation may positively change] – at the moment topics related to doping still gain most of all media attention.”

 

 

“Top German cyclists are not being shown on TV.”

 

Saying this, a winner of exactly six Six Days, including prestigious events held in Rotterdam and Berlin, explained that only a change in thinking and perceiving cycling as a whole in his home country could positively influence the situation of track races he participates in.

 

“I see cycling as a one entity and Six Days are attached to that so it should positively affect them. But it needs to take time, for sure.”

 

“There are for sure other reasons. We have riders that are getting popular, but they’re not on television. If we have Degenkolb, Kittel, Greipel, Tony Martin, if we have them on the German national television, maybe in a couple of years we’re going to have a German team.”

 

“Then the cycling gets a new, different audience and then of course a rider like Degenkolb or Greipel may actually show up at the Six Day. This way new sponsors might be attracted.”

 

 

“German television is only bringing up stories about doping.”

 

Unfortunately, the 31-year old Six Days specialist revealed that instead of turning their focus to the future, German media are still interested mainly in showing a dark sides of the discipline.

 

“German media and especially the television need to present cycling, mainly the Tour, in a positive way again, as it used to be,” Lampater said. “As long as the German television is only bringing up stories about doping and not about the sport, not about those good riders, nothing will change.”

“Even the World Championships, the World Championships road race weren’t shown in Germany,” he revealed.

 

“I would say it’s not anymore about the riders not being good, the riders are really good. But there’s a thing in Germany – Germans are crazy in a way that for them it only counts when someone wins the Tour, the yellow jersey. Stages, time trials or whatever, these are not big enough achievements.”

 

 

“Road racers cannot attend to Six Days in January.”

 

Asked about other reasons – apart from insufficient or negative media coverage of cycling in Germany – for so many of Six Day races being cancelled or reduced to only four days, Lampater pointed out to road and track calendars not being coordinated in a way allowing road riders to participate in half of those events.

 

“The organizers need to show it to broader audience. It would be great to have a rider like Cavendish in one of the German Six Days, but of course in January it’s not possible anymore – all big road riders are not allowed to do it.”

 

“The same goes for riders who are still looking for a contract, they cannot talk with teams while riding Six Days. It makes things hard.”

 

 

“It is very uncommon in the whole world to have this kind of positive craziness.”

 

Even though there might be an impression that Six Days organizers are not trying hard enough to promote their events and reach out to broader new audience, the 31-year old German insisted that after several personal changed made two years ago the situation has significantly improved.

“It’s hard for them,” he agreed, though.

 

“I think organizers are doing a very good job since last two years, they’re trying to promote it. Maybe currently they [Six Days] are more of a regional events. For sure it’s hard to get a place, attention, I think they’re doing some organic work and trying to involve the social media. In the end I think they’re going a good job, from my own perspective.”

 

“In the end everything is depended on the riders who are televised,” Lampater once again emphasized. “Like Cavendish, like in Germany it could be Kittel, it could be Degenkolb or it could be Greipel.”

 

Believing that a positive change – both in regards to media’s approach to cycling in Germany and a situation of Six Day events – will happen, the 31-year old rider spontaneously expressed his own affection for lively track races.

 

“When the organizer changed, things changed, the music changed. I mean, the public in cycling is nowhere else like it is here. You probably don’t have it anywhere in the world that mainly male and young people are going out to see cycling. It is very uncommon in the whole world to have this kind of positive craziness.”

 

Indeed. Even joining wild groups of slightly drunk Dutchmen on the slopes of L’Alpe d’Huez cannot beat an exceptional atmosphere of Six Day events, where bonds between riders and public are developed in a truly unique way.