Madison - 1949 Six Days of Brussels - Ferdi Kübler

Until the 1960s, Antwerp was not the only one to have a Sports Palace. The Brussels municipality of Schaarbeek also boasted a sports venue with the same name. The Brussels Winter Velodrome was the scene of numerous cycling competitions, including the Six Days of Brussels. On 4 December 1949, no fewer than 20 duos rode around the Brussels oval during the Coupe du Soir. The 100-kilometre madison race (known as the "American race" in French) featured famous names such as Van Steenbergen, Ockers, Schulte, Kint and Lapébie. The victory was claimed by the Swiss-Belgian Kübler-Bruylandt duo. Ferdi Kübler had won three Tour stages and was certainly no longer an unknown quantity. But his most memorable achievements were still in the future. The Eagle of Adliswil went on to win the Tour de France, the world championships and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on two occassions. His teammate Albert Bruylandt was first and foremost a track cyclist. Alongside René Adriaenssens, he succeeded in winning a quartet of Six Days races.