Spills

"Football is nothing to bike racing for hurts. No, not this hockey, either. . . . From bikes I have dislocated shoulder many times. Broken ribs plenty. Cuts all over. Once a spoke go right through this arm--yes, the last race in the Garden."

These remarks by Belgian Gerard Debaets explained why 100,000 customers trudged into Manhattan's Madison Square Garden last week to witness the 59th International Six-Day Bicycle Race. Not to be mesmerized by the whirring tires, not to cheer for representatives of their own race did goggle-eyed addicts stare hour after hour, night & day at the pine-board saucer. It was, for most of them, the hope of being startled by the impact of wheels, the slither of tangled bodies on the track.

No sooner had Cinemactor Pat O'Brien cracked a pistol to send off 15 teams of riders than these hopes were granted. Partners Gustav Kilian & Heinz Vopel, over whose bunk flew the old German flag lest "non-Aryans" be annoyed, made their Garden debut by bumping soundly, crashing heavily. Undiscouraged, they duplicated their stunt a few minutes later (see cut), this time bringing down Cecil Yates with them. Helped to their cots, where they were thoroughly lubricated and bandaged, they soon joined the chase again. Vopel, still reckless, next collided with Torchy Peden. Over them tumbled Testa, Grimm, Wissel and Carpus. Led to their cubbyholes to be patched, they resembled plucked fowl, with splinters projecting from legs and back sides. Next day the crowd watched a greater number of even more spectacular spills. Six riders withdrew from fatigue. By the third night wild jams, blown tires and careless pickups had accounted for 17 spills, numerous cuts, twisted ankles, bruised legs. Not a spoke through the arm but an ordinary stomachache forced Debaets out next day. Pleading the same ailment, popular Italian Franco Georgetti, reputedly the highest-paid performer in the game, withdrew. The triple smash of Dempsey, Kilian and Rodman was a nerve-tingler, but the fifth night brought a prize misadventure. Gottfried Hurtgen, who had replaced Debaets as Alfred Letourner's partner, tangled with Bobby Echevaria, jacknifed to the boards amid the wreckage of his bicycle, stumbled off with a broken collarbone. By 9:30 p. m., the spills numbered 28. Next night Norman Hill pedaled into Dave Lands. The latter was only slightly damaged but the Californian dislocated his collarbone. Hour later, Eddie Testa relieved his partner, Echevaria, by bowling into him. So great was the impact that Echevaria's pedal broke through the wooden surface of the track. Echevaria retired with severe bruises, and Testa paired with Peden to leave nine teams in the race. In the last hour, with three teams tied in mileage, the pedaling became furious. Vopel went sprawling at the end of the fourth sprint, gamely remounted in seven minutes. Then he and Kilian put on the pressure. Throwing aside all caution, they zipped around the saucer, matching every effort of Letourner and his new partner Brocardo. Their daring won them 14 of the 27 final sprints, added 72 points to their total every time. Though tied in mileage (2,477 miles and seven laps) with two other pairs, Newcomers Vopel & Kilian had amassed 1,400 points, highest total since 1921, became the first German team ever to win the Garden Race.

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