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Belgian duo has one lap advantage over competition
Jasper de Buyst and Kenny de Ketele lead the Rotterdam Six-Days after two nights. The Belgian Topsport Vlaanderen duo took important laps on Iljo Keisse/Niki Terpstra in the final madison. The Omega Phama-Quick Step riders should be the main rivals for the remainder of the race, with Dutch Madison champions Jens Mouris (Orica-Greenedge) and Wim Stroetinga, and Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen as important outsiders.
From the first Madison race in the Ahoy Arena, it became clear that it would come down to a battle between young talent Jasper de Buyst and his experienced partner De Ketele, and last year's winning pair Keisse/Terpstra. The intermediate sprints were fiercely contested between them but the overall victory went to Yoeri Havik/Nick Stöpler, who were the only team to take a lap in the race.
Still in the same lap but still behind on points, De Buyst/De Ketele started to come back during the other events of the night. The team elimination came down to a sprint between the two teams. Jasper de Buyst, only 20 years old, won it. It were Keisse/Terpstra however who broke the 100-point mark and took a bonus lap.
With the Belgians scoring more points in the time trial and winning the derny race, De Buyst/De Ketele also broke the 100-point mark and were on the same lap again as their Omega Pharma-Quick Step rivals. Both pairs didn't win any points in the second elimination to prepare for the final, 200-lap Madison race.
Only two points separated the two teams before the start of the last event. De Buyst/De Ketele were quick to gain a lap but Terptra/Keisse came back with a doublette, lapping the field twice in only 16 laps. In a late move with Mouris/Stroetinga and Havik/Stöpler, the Belgians took back a lap and outsmarted the defending champions. De Buyst sprinted to victory against Stroetinga and took the overnight lead by one lap and a margin of eight points.
“We took an early lap which gave us the advantage”, said De Ketele. “We were in control for a long time but the double lap by Terpstra and Keisse put us under pressure. Fortunately, we were able to straighten things up with a late attack.”
Mørkøv/Rasmussen and Stroetinga/Mouris also sit in the same lap as Keisse/Terpstra but the points difference between the leading teams and the rest of the field is getting bigger.
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny De Ketele / Jasper De Buyst (Bel) RTV Rijnmond | 151 | pts |
| 2 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) / Iljo Keisse (Bel) Flanderijn Incasso | 143 - 1 lap | |
| 3 | Michael Mørkøv / Alex Rasmussen (Den) VD Valk Hotel Ridderkerk | 112 - 1 lap | |
| 4 | Jens Mouris / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Vlasman | 68 - 1 lap | |
| 5 | Barry Markus (Ned) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Peinemann | 73 - 3 laps | |
| 6 | Yoeri Havik / Nick Stöpler (Ned) AA Drink | 65 - 5 laps | |
| 7 | Franco Marvulli / Tristan Marguet (Swi) Mako Cleanng Service | 60 - 6 laps | |
| 8 | Robert Bartko / Marcel Kalz (Ger) Tacx | 40 - 6 laps | |
| 9 | Vivien Brisse (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) Werkgevers Servicepunt | 38 - 9 laps | |
| 10 | Michel Kreder / Wesley Kreder (Ned) AD | 12 - 9 laps | |
| 11 | Guy East / Daniel Holloway (USA) Island 200 | 10 - 9 laps | |
| 12 | Melvin Boskamp / Jesper Asselman (Ned) Metec | 22 - 10 laps | |
| 13 | Arno van der Zwet (Ned) / Nolan Hoffmann (RSA) Holland Werkt | 18 - 11 laps | |
| 14 | Didier Caspers / Melvin van Zijl (Ned) AM Recycling | 0 - 11 laps | |
| 15 | Theo Bos (Ned) / Graeme Brown (Aus) Belkin | 28 - 12 laps |
