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Albert BUYSSE rides his Claud Butler around Wembley while taking a snack
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From 1 to 7-May-1938
Pre-race report -
“SIX-DAYS' bicycle racing will commence at Wembley, England, in the first week in May. Entertaining as it is, extraordinary perhaps, it is probably one of the toughest sports being carried on in the world today. To cycle round and round, day and night for six days, with sprints every now and then, needs a brave, tough rider, and particularly one with iron nerves.
According to English comment Albert Buysse, the 26-year-old Belgian, is the ideal type for this sport. He has a ready smile, and always convinces people that he is enjoying every minute of the race. He has been booked for Wembley. Buysse is something like a boxer in build, weighs over 12 stone, is powerful and full of high spirits. Here is one tale told about Buysse, that proves him a rider of extraordinary speed and endurance: "After watching Buysse at the last Wembley race, I have often wondered what might be his limit in speed. For after four days' riding he turned out during one of the "neutrality" periods and had a standing-start match race of one mile with Diot, the Frenchman. Buysse won in 1min. 58sec a remarkable time considering that the best outdoor mile stands at 2min. 1 4/5sec., and, that the Wembley track is 10 laps to the mile, with four 'corners' to be negotiated each time round."
Credit: Western Mail (Perth, WA) 14-Apr-1938
Comments about the 1938 race made in the 1951 race programme - “In 1938, the next race at Wembley, Albert Buysse was again successful, this time partnered by a fellow countryman, Albert Billiet. This pair became one of the leading teams in Europe and ever since the war. Buysse, whose father had been a great "six" rider before him, has made his mark in the cycling world. Partnered by Thyssen, he was placed 5th in the 1950 race at the Vel d'Hiv in Paris, only four laps behind the winners.”
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