Hometown rider celebrated by fans for fourth overall win
Local resident Iljo Keisse won his fourth Gent Six Days in the infamous track Het Kuipke, with its steep slopes. Keisse and partner Peter Schep took the race on the 166-meter track ahead of the Belgian-German duo Kenny de Ketele/Leif Lampater and the Danish Homeown rider celebrated by fans for fourth overall win Alex Rasmussen/Michael Mørkøv pair. Keisse/Schep had 406 points, 61 points more than De Ketele/Lampater and a 131 points more than Rasmussen/Mørkøv.
Keisse was celebrated by the crowd in the Gent track stadium in Citadelpark, which is almost exclusively used for the Gent Six Days nowadays. “Iljo! Iljo! Iljo!” the public screamed for several minutes, according to Sporza.
The race of the top two teams came down to the wire, the final Madison. De Ketele/Lampater tried hard with 18 laps to go, but managed only to get half a lap. With another free lap given to Keisse/Schep when they went past the 400-point mark, the victory was theirs.
The runner-up was still satisfied. “I am content,” said De Ketele. “I am very happy with this second place, when you see from where I came,” he said, referring to a bad summer.
Keisse gave the public what it wanted. He, too, had problems since testing positive in the Gent Six Days two years ago. He was only recently cleared and declared eligible to ride. “That is fantastic after all the misery in the last few months.”
Final Results Gent Six Days
1. Keisse/Schep (Bel-Ned) 406
2. De Ketele/Lampater (Bel-Ger) 345
3. Rasmussen/Mørkøv (Den) 275
4. Bartko/Hondo (Ger) 346 + one lap
5. Stam/Van Bon (Ned) 254 + one lap