Sunday, November 17, 2024 at 8:32 AM
The Belgian-New Zealand couple Jules Hesters and Aaron Gate have seized power in the 83rd edition of the Six Days of Ghent. The Germans Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt follow in the same round. Defending champions Robbe Ghys and Lindsay De Vylder have dropped to third place – with the final day still ahead.
The penultimate day of the Six Days of Ghent started with the first points race. Gianluca Pollefliet managed to control this part. The second points race also turned out to be a prey for a Belgian: Nolan Huysmans. In the team elimination we were presented with a duel between the duos Fabio Van Den Bossche-Benjamin Thomas and Jules Hesters-Aaron Gate. The Belgian-French tandem ultimately did the best business.
The time trial turned out to be a favorite part of Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys, at that time still the leaders in the Six Days of Ghent. However, in the team race, track enthusiasts witnessed an interesting – and perhaps crucial – development.
Ghys and De Vylder suddenly have to chase – photo: Cor Vos
Hesters and Gate clash in closing squad
In this team race, Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt managed to make their mark compared to most other couples. Only Hesters and Gate were able to follow the experienced Germans, but still had to give up in the sprint. The other duos – also De Vylder and Ghys – were ridden on one or more laps. Kluge and Reinhardt also received a bonus round, as they managed to reach the 100 points mark.
However, Hesters and Gate had the last word, because the Belgian and New Zealander turned out to be the big winners of the second team race, which was also the closing part of the fifth and penultimate day of the Ghent Six Days. Although the victory in this team race went to the duo Mark Stewart-Philip Heijnen, Hesters and Gate finished second and – even more importantly – completed a bonus round.
The Belgian-New Zealand tandem has thus taken over the power in the Six Days of Ghent. The Germans Kluge and Reinhardt follow in the same round and are therefore by no means eliminated from victory. And the duos De Vylder-Ghys and Van den Bossche-Thomas can also dream of winning in Het Kuipke. Today the curtain falls on the 83rd edition of the Six Days of Ghent. We will know the successors of Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys around 6:30 PM.
Standings after fifth day Six Days of Ghent 2024
1. 
/ Jules Hesters-Aaron Gate – 264 points
2. /
Roger Kluge-Theo Reinhardt – 109 points
3. / Lindsay De Vylder-Robbe Ghys – 298 points and 1 round
4. / Benjamin Thomas–Fabio Van den Bossche – 276 points and 1 round
5. / Mark Stewart-Philip Heijnen – 127 points and 6 laps
6. 
/ Yanne Dorenbos-Jan-Willem van Schip – 132 points and 12 laps
7. / Noah Vandenbranden-Gianluca Pollefliet – 211 points and 24 laps
8. 
/ Oscar Nilsson-Julien-Valentin Table – 122 points in 24 rounds
9. / Milan Van den Haute-Sebastian Mora Vedri – 63 points and 26 laps
10. / Clement Petit-Michele Scartezzini – 46 points and 27 laps
11. / Nolan Huysmans-Vincent Hoppezak – 104 points and 48 laps
