[1] The competition consists of six consecutive evening sessions of track cycling: Madison, Sprint, Elimination, Keirin, Derny and Team Time Trial disciplines.

(See Outline of the Event) Six Day Cycling is best known for its signature event, the Madison (named after Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the two-man format was devised), where both riders may be on the track at the same time, taking turns to race and hand-slinging each other back into action.

Six Day events also offer a unique party like atmosphere, providing dance music as a backdrop to the drama on the track.

Six Day Cycling originated in Britain in 1877, where its popularity spread to many regions of the world and there are now seven events held globally.

Today, the 24-hours-a-day regime has been abandoned, with the Six Day format involving six nights of racing, typically from 6pm to 2am, on indoor tracks (velodromes).

Inspired by the publicity surrounding Stanton’s feat, a following Six Day race was hurriedly organised at the same venue, this time for a mass field and with £150 offered in total prize money - £100 going to the victor.

Although it is often said that the first six-day was a non-stop, no-sleeping event that ran without pause for six days, in fact riders joined in when they chose and slept as they wished.

By the 1920s Six Day Cycling had become a huge hit in America, becoming the country’s most popular sport in the ‘jazz age’ – far bigger than baseball.

Lining the track were stars such as Knute Rockne, George Raft, Barbara Stanwyck, Otto Kruger and Bing Crosby, who would not only find musical scores, but would also pay the hospital bills of riders who fell.

Races continued through the night, as they had in the US, but the costs of keeping stadiums open for partygoers who'd missed the bus and a small number of dedicated fans was too great.

The series starts in London travelling across the world, where it touches down in Berlin, Copenhagen, Melbourne and Manchester, before concluding in Brisbane.

Sir Bradley Wiggins chose the 2016 London event as his last UK track appearance and riders like the Australian Olympic gold medallists Cameron Mayer and Callum Scotson have also featured.

The women’s event has also grown with the opportunity to compete in the Madison, an added attraction for some of the world’s best exponents of track racing.

Two time world champion Kirsten Wild has attended in previous years, whilst Six Day Manchester 2019 will see Britain’s joint most decorated female track cyclist in Olympic history Laura Kenny compete.

The Elite Women’s competition consists of three events as outlined below: The winning team is the one with the most points and this is important for the riders, as the race carries UCI International Rider Ranking Points Since the start of the 2017 season Six Day now hosts a full UCI Omnium for the Women.