Keisse and Terpstra lead Rotterdam Six

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Defending champions Niki Terpstra and Iljo Keisse lead the Rotterdam Six after one night. The Omega Pharma-Quick Step pair did so by both winning points in the individual events as by taking laps in the Madison races. "The first place is always the best place to be in. Now we have to defend that position," Terpstra commented.

After the first events in the Ahoy Arena it became clear that the Swiss duo Franco Marvulli/Tristan Marguet were Keisse/Terpstra's biggest competitors. They won the opening Madison race in the same lap as Keisse/Terpstra and also won the time trial event. 

The Omega Pharma-Quick Step riders countered by finishing second in the Madison and by winning the super elimination race and the derny race. They started the final Madison as leaders with a large margin in points on the rest of the field but still found the Swiss in the same lap as them.

The one-hour long, high velocity Madison race was too much for Marvulli/Marguet. They lost four laps on the winners Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen and three laps on Keisse/Terpstra. Despite losing a lap to three other pairs, the Dutch/Belgian duo kept the lead in points but saw Mørkøv/Rasmussen approach fast. Their lead is only nine points after day one.

“The first big Madison of a Six-Day is always important,” said Keisse. “We might have lost a lap but we laid our cards on the table. I think it was a good day.” Terpstra agreed with his Belgian partner. “The first place is the best place to be in. Now we have to defend that position.”

The final Madison was too much for Theo Bos and Graeme Brown. The Belkin riders on their new Bianchi track bikes were lapped seven times in the fast-paced race and are out of contention for a good result.