Muller surprised as Austrain duo take Six Day Berlin lead

The Austrian pair delivered a barn-storming opening day in Germany, finished off with a blistering 30-minute final chase which saw them take a lap on the field, while also out-sprinting Dutch pair Pim Ligthart and Jens Mouris to the line.

That all came after a belligerent fight in the opening race of the night which saw Six Day London and Amsterdam champions Moreno de Pauw and Kenny de Ketele eventually open with victory.

But the Belgians couldn't hold on to their advantage, with consistency the name of the game for the two Andreas', seeing them sitting pretty with 69 points and a lap to their name.

But with Day Two of Six Day Berlin very quickly on the horizon, Muller in particular knows just how much of an uphill battle it will be to hold off the Belgian powerhouses.

"It was definitely a surprise to win the first day, of course," said the 37-year-old.

"I was hoping to be in a good shape from the last weeks of training, but did not expect to take the overall lead.

"We hope to be on the podium at the end of the week, but the strongest team right now appears to be De Ketele and De Pauw, once again."

Muller and Graf lead from Ligthart and Mouris in second, while Morgan Kniesky and Benjamin Thomas – who boast the most points so far with 94 – sit third, a lap down on the two leaders.

Day two will see the Austrians open up with another Madison, with the crowd-favourite Derny race following quickly after.

That's the first of two dernys in the men's competition in Berlin, while riders will also take to the boards in time trial, elimination, scratch and longest lap in what is another power-packed day.

And with another Madison chase to close off the day, drama is set to be aplenty in Six Day Berlin.

As if that wasn't enough, the sprinters will also battle for their second day of competition, with Robert Forstemann currently leading the way.

But with Tomas Bebek and Maximilian Levy just one and two points off his lead, respectively, there's all to ride for ahead of today's time trial, match sprint and keirin.

Day One also saw a Six Day debut for sprinter Philip Hindes, and while the Brit didn't have a perfect day on the boards, he is undoubtedly looking forward to showing the Berlin crowd exactly what he is made of.

"It was good, my first ever day of Six Day so I'm looking forward to the next stage," he said.

"I've been recovering from injury, so the first day was about seeing how I dealt with that, and from there I'll be trying to attack and win some races.

"It's a world-class field, we've got some really fast guys and some world champions so racing will be really close.

"I'm looking forward to the weekend, I hear the crowds are fantastic and I'm looking forward to putting on a big show and winning some races."

Sportsbeat 2017