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Britain’s Olympic heroes to compete at Six Day London
Laura Kenny has joined the fold ahead of this month's event.
Some of the world’s best cyclists descend on London next month for the fifth consecutive Six Day London.
Each event features an evening of endurance and sprint racing, set against a backdrop of music, entertainment and a belting atmosphere.
This year’s competition takes place at the velodrome at Queen Elizabeth Park from the 22-27 October 2019.
Organisers have now confirmed that the most decorated female track cyclist in history, Laura Kenny, will compete in London. The four-time Olympic gold medalist says: “I love Six Day and can’t wait to compete in London and again in Manchester. There’s just nothing like it in the racing calendar, with the music, lights and fans creating the most amazing atmosphere.”
Kenny will ride alongside Elinor Barker for Great Britain, having taken home the gold as part of the team pursuit line-up in Rio in 2016.
They join fellow Great Britain competitors Katie Archibald and Neah Evans, and Emily Nelson and Manon Lloyd.
The full elide female field includes three-time Italian road race champion Elena Cecchini. She’ll join former world scratch race champion Rachele Barbiere. Other names include Russia’s Tamara Dronova and Maria Averina, and Ireland’s Alice Sharpe, Emily Kay, Shannon McCurley and Mia Griffin.
Six Day London Elite Female Field
- Laura Kenny and Elinor Barker (GB)
- Katie Archibald and Neah Evans (GB)
- Emily Nelson and Manon Lloyd (GB)
- Rachele Barbieri and Elena Cecchini (Italy)
- Michelle Lauge Quaade and Amalie Winther Olsen (Denmark)
- Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Nicola McDonald (Australia)
- Lea Lin Teutenberg and Finja Smekal (Germany)
- Petra Sevickova and Jarmila Machackova (Czech Republic)
- Mylene de Loete and Bente van Teeseling (Netherlands)
- Alice Sharpe and Emily Kay (Ireland)
- Maria Averina and Tamara Dronova (Russia)
- Shannon McCurley and Mia Griffin (Ireland)
Further British Olympic heroes confirmed to appear at this year’s Six Day include Mark Cavendish and Owain Doull.
Mark Cavendish returns to Six Day London following thrilling performances in 2016 and 2017.
During his stellar career, Cavendish has won a phenomenal 30 Tour de France Stages and multiple world championships.
He took home silver in the omnium at Rio 2016 and will be using Six Day for preparation as he pushes to earn a place on Team GB at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Mark comments: “It’s a great event for elite cyclists and it allows another opportunity to prepare for 2020 in the most competitive arena, against some of the best riders in the world. It’s also a fantastic event for the crowd and the atmosphere is always amazing in the velodrome”.
The Olympic hopeful will be paired with Welsh Olympic Gold medallist Owain Doull at the event.
“You can always rely on a Welsh lad!”, says Cavendish on his partner, adding: “I’ve had a lot of Welsh teammates in the past and I’ve known Owain a long time. We rode in the Rio Olympics together and I’ve seen him progress on the road in the last couple of years, we’ve got a strong partnership, we complement each other”.
Doull took home a gold medal at Rio 2016 in team pursuit discipline, becoming the first Welsh-speaking athlete to win an Olympic Gold.
Owen will be making his Six Day debut at the London event this October. “It’s been something I’ve always wanted to race,” he says. “I’ve been fortunate enough to watch it but never been able to race in it due to other commitments, so to be able to race it this year – I can’t wait”.
Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker made headlines in 2016 when they topped the podium at the Rio Olympics as part of the British team that won the Team Pursuit.
Archibald is the reigning Six Day Women’s Champion following her win as the Six Day Final in Brisbane. She’s also a three-time World Champion and 11-time European gold Medallist.
Earlier this year we spoke to Katie about her journey into the sport. Watch the full chat below:
Archibald will be joined at the event by her 2016 Rio Olympics teammate Elinor Barker. A four-time World and five-time European gold medallist, Barker won at the Amsterdam and Mallorca Six Day events in 2017.
Barker comments: “I’m very excited to be returning for Six Day this October, and really looking forward to racing with Katie. We’ve obviously shared the highest moment of our careers to date when we won together in Rio 2016, so it will be nicely competitive between us when we meet in London”.
Throughout the 2018/19 season, Six Day Series held races in London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Manchester and Brisbane, with more than 100,000 fans attending events.
Fans can see Mark Cavendish, Owain Doull, Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Laura Kenny and more compete at Six Day London, taking place at the velodrome at Queen Elizabeth Park, London from 22-27 October 2019.
Tickets are available now through Ticketmaster.co.uk
