On Tuesday 14 November, the 82nd edition of the Lotto Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Gent begins. At the Ghent cycling temple ‘t Kuipke in the Citadelpark, cycling fans can already enjoy another historic cycling tradition. The self-proclaimed Emperor of Ghent, Iljo Keisse, will kick off at 20h25. He rode last last year.
How does it work?
For some, this edition will be the first time they experience the Six Days. Therefore, it is important to briefly tell how it works. In a Six-Day, teams of two men compete against each other. The team that has completed the most laps at the end is the winner. When teams have completed the same number of laps, it is the points that determine the winner. In between, other partial races are organised, which earn extra points and premium money.
History
The Six Days of Ghent have been held since 1922, but were cancelled several times due to the Second World War. In 1947, they took up the thread again. The new Kuipke, which was built after the older Kuipke was destroyed by a fire, has been in use since 1965.
Well-known names in the list of winners include Rik Van Steenbergen, Peter Post, René Pijnen and Patrick Sercu. They were often paired with top cyclists such as Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck. Sercu became track director of the Kuipke after his cycling career, and thus co-organiser of the Six Days. He’s the record holder in Ghent, with 11 victories.
Favourites
Last edition’s winners, Robbe Ghys and Lindsay De Vylder, will also make their appearance in the competition this time. The two competed against each other at the BK on Saturday, in which De Vylder just managed to get the upper hand. In the pair race, they rode together to BK gold.
At the World Cup in Scotland, they were also in pole position to take gold, but ended up finishing fourth. So they want to take revenge on Jan-Willem Van Schip and Yoeri Havik. The Dutch riders became world champions in the team race in August, and are looking to take the upper hand this time too.
European team race champions Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt will also be there. They are already riding together for the fourth time in Ghent, finishing third in 2019. Kluge will probably make his appearance at the Kuipke for the last time, as the 37-year-old German would still like to compete in the Paris Olympics and then end his career.
World road champion Lotte Kopecky celebrated her 28th birthday on Friday 10 November with two Belgian titles in Heusden-Zolder. In the scratch race she rode ahead of Katrijn De Clerq and Lani Wittevrongel to the title, in the points race she dominated and made it with almost sixty points ahead of Wittevrongel. Kopecky will be in action in the women’s two-day event on Friday and Saturday.
The G athletes will also make their appearance in the sold-out Kuipke. They will ride their rounds on Wednesday and Friday.
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