Keisse and Stam rally to win Rotterdam

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Belgium's Illjo Keisse and Dutchman Danny Stam won the Rotterdam Six Day, besting the Swiss pair of Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli by 11 points in a dramatic evening of racing.

Keisse and Stam entered the final night with a tenuous two-point lead over Risi/Marvulli, and the Swiss duo quickly moved into the lead after winning the opening points race. The Swiss remained in the lead through the team elimination but lost the lead to Keisse/Stam by four points after the points race.

Keisse/Stam added one point to their lead after the derny event, but relinquished the lead yet again to Risi/Marvulli after the Swiss duo won the team trial. Entering the evening's finale, the Madison, Keisse/Stam trailed the Swiss by seven points, but the Belgian/Dutch duo dominated the event beating Risi/Marvulli by 18 points to take an 11-point win overall.

"Winning this race wasn't easy," said Keisse. "The competition was fierce, there were no less than six teams remaining in the last night for final victory. The contest became even more complicated on Friday evening when Danny and I fell. As a result we had to fight race after race, staying intensely focused.

"However, this made our victory even sweeter. I'm happy and proud that I've also won the first race of the season for team Quick Step. I hope this is a good omen for important victories to come for the entire team in 2010.

"Now I'm looking forward to the Six Days of Bremen where I'll be riding paired with Robert Bartko. We already won this race together in 2008. A repeat would be wonderful," said Keisse.