Dutch duo pip Iljo Keisse and Kenny De Ketele in thrilling final Madison
Dutch duo Danny Stam and Leon Van Bon (AA Drink) won the Rotterdam Six-Days ahead of Belgians Iljo Keisse and Kenny De Ketele (Deelen) as almost a weeks racing came down to the final sprint in the final Madison race. Going into the final lap the Belgian pair led by just 2 points; Van Bon and Keisse pulled off the front of the peloton, as they both attempted to escape one another, and the Dutchman took a close sprint on the line.
Robert Bartko and Pim Ligthart (valk.com), having led the competition at various points of the evening, finished third on the same lap as the first two but trailing on 239 points.
The lead changed hands any number of times during the six days of competition; after the first night Stam and Van Bon led, but were just one point ahead of Theo Bos and Peter Schep and two ahead of Keisse and De Ketele, with the top eight pairs still on the same lap.
After night two Keisse and De Ketele took the lead, with Leif Lampater and Niki Terpstra just 5 points behind them; Stam and Van Bon were lurking just 6 points back though and only those three pairs were on the same lap. After night three though, Stam and Van Bon had taken the lead once more, but with a much lower points score than both Keisse and De Ketele, and Bos and Schep, who were both one lap behind.
The fourth night saw Bos and Schep really take control of the racing; pushing their points total over 200 saw the Dutch pair awarded a bonus lap, which saw them well clear of Stam and Van Bon.
Illness struck Theo Bos on the fifth night though and, while the Dutch pair managed to stay on terms in laps, they scored relatively few points which allowed Keisse and De Ketele to overtake them. Bos was not to start on the sixth and final night and, while Schep was introduced to the crowd, he didn’t take part in the races and the pair dropped out of the standings.
The lead changed hands a number of times on the final evening but with few opportunities to take laps no one pair was able to pull away from the others; and so it came down to the final, hour long, Madison. As the race began the Belgian pair led by 14 points but the Dutch duo soon began to chip away at the deficit.
After the third sprint Stam and Van Bon had taken the lead, but Keisse and De Ketele were to take it back on the very next one. Both pairs, as were many others, were constantly attacking, but as one pair took a lap the other would immediately respond and take it back.
Coming to the final sprint Keisse and De Ketele were on 278 points, with Stam and Van Bon on 276. Van Bon and Keisse detatched from the front of the rest of the bunch in their fight for the finish line; they came around the final bend side by side; the Dutchman’s roadman/sprinter speed took him over in first place to take the ten points and the overall victory.
With Keisse riding against the wishes of the International Cycling Union (UCI), his result will not be officially recognised, so his narrow defeat saves a number of people a few blushes.
Results
1. Danny Stam – Leon Van Bon 286pts
2. Kenny De Ketele – Iljo Keisse 284
3. Robert Bartko – Pim Ligthart 239
4. Michael Mørkøv – Jimmy Madsen 231 @ 2 laps
5. Leif Lampater – Niki Terpstra 192 @ 3 laps