Bang! Tonight the Six Days of Ghent got underway again for a week full of speed and spectacle. The Belgian duo Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys got off to the best start, but the defending champions immediately met the French phenomenon Benjamin Thomas and his Belgian companion de route Fabio Van den Bossche.
Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys entered the first night as leaders on Tuesday evening with 46 points to their name, after the first team race of the Six Days of Ghent.
Seven more couples are in the same round. The Belgian-French tandem Van Den Bossche/Thomas totaled 36 points. The Dutch Yoeri Havik and Vincent Hoppezak have 25 points, as many as Jules Hesters and the New Zealander Aaron Gate.
The first points race of the evening immediately went to Lindsay De Vylder. The second points race was exactly what Fabio Van Den Bossche wanted.
During the subsequent defection, the battle was between De Vylder and Benjamin Thomas. The former made it after a pressing sprint.
The fourth song of the evening was the track lap time trial, which went to the pair Noah Vandenbranden/Gianluca Pollefliet.
Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys were allowed to start the very first team race of this 83rd Six Days of Ghent as leaders. Fabio Van Den Bossche came second in the standings with the Frenchman Benjamin Thomas. In the sprint for victory, De Vylder and Ghys proved to be the fastest and so they took 20 points.
| Ghent Six Days 2024: status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| points | round | ||
| 1. | Kluge (Ger)/Reinhardt (Ger) | ||
| 2. | Havik (Down)/Hoppezak (Down) | ||
| 3. | From Vylder/Ghys | ||
| 4. | Hesters/Gate (NZe) | ||
| 5. | Thomas (Fra)/Van den Bossche | ||
| 6. | Petit (Fra)/Scartezzini (Ita) | ||
| 7. | Vandenbranden/Pollefliet | ||
| 8. | Van den Haute/Mora Vedri (Spa) | ||
| 9. | Nilsson-Julien (From)/Tabellion (From) | ||
| 10. | Stewart (GBr)/Heijnen (Ned) | ||
| 11. | Doorenbos (Ned)/Van Schip (Ned) | ||
| 12 | Van Strijthem/Huysmans | ||
Belgian duo in the lead
Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys are the provisional leaders with 46 points after the first night of the 83rd Six Days of Ghent. They defeated Benjamin Thomas and Fabio Van Den Bossche in an exciting sprint during the team race, which earned them 20 points. Van Den Bossche and Thomas are second with 36 points, while the Dutch Yoeri Havik and Vincent Hoppezak together with Jules Hesters and Aaron Gate each achieved 25 points. The first points race was won by De Vylder, while Van Den Bossche won the second points race. The evening time trial went to the duo Noah Vandenbranden and Gianluca Pollefliet.
Travel companion
Although Ghys and De Vylder may start as favorites, the competition with the French-Belgian top duo Benjamin Thomas / Fabio Van den Bossche, who won gold and bronze respectively in the omnium at the Olympic Games in Paris, is not small.
“I feel healthy tension, but I am happy to be here again,” said a relaxed Van den Bossche before the starting shot.
“He has been here since Saturday and on Sunday we trained together for the first time,” he explains about his new companion de route. “It was a short preparation, but I am looking forward to it. I have also seen that he is motivated and there is a connection. It will be fun, so.”
Watch the interview with Van den Bossche:
5 op 5?
Robbe Ghys won the last four editions of the Ghent Six Days. In 2019 and 2021 he did this alongside Kenny De Ketele. Since 2022, Ghys has been a couple in ‘t Kuipke with De Vylder.
“I stand here with a lot of ambition and desire,” says De Vylder. “Robbe (Ghys, ed.) and I are keen to make it happen again, but I will not hide the fact that Fabio Van den Bossche and Benjamin Thomas are the favorites for me.”
So what makes the dreaded Thomas so good? “He is extremely versatile. Someone who is fast and has enormous endurance. Thomas is a rider we look up to because he can do everything.”
So it will have to be a lot of work on the first day. “We immediately hope for a points gap. Here you don’t lose the Six Days, but you would rather have a points lead than have to catch up on points. I’m already looking forward to the track round.”
Watch the full interview with De Vylder:
This is also special for me as a Dutch person. The audience is so close and they are experts. What is our ambition? Everyone talks about Ghys/De Vylder against Van den Bossche/Thomas, but maybe the third party will walk away with it.
Yuri Hawk
Watch the interview with Havik:
START
Pop! Former winner and outgoing track national coach Kenny De Ketele has kicked off the 83rd edition of the Ghent Six Days in ‘t Kuipke. The event is completely sold out. In addition to the six-day event for professionals, there is also room for a Future Six-Day event for promises, a two-day event for women (on Friday and Saturday) and the G-athletes will also have a forum in ‘t Kuipke.
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