Keisse and Schep win 70th Gent Six Day

Iljo Keisse and Peter Schep (John Saey-Mega Deschacht) have won the 70th edition of the Gent Six Day. The Belgian-Dutch duo outscored two teams who finished on the lead lap by a decisive margin - 61 points ahead of runner-up Kenny De Ketele and Leif Lampater (Mercator Verzekeringen) while the German duo of Robert Bartko and Danilo Hondo (Lotto) finished third with 275 points, 131 off the mark of Keisse and Schep.

Entering the Six Day's final event, a 60 minute Madison, Keisse and Schep led with 384 points. De Ketele and Lampater held second with 325 points while the next three teams were one lap off the pace: defending champions Alex Rasmussen and Michael Morkov (322 points), Germans Bartko and Hondo (259 points) and Dutchmen Danny Stam and Leon Van Bon (246 points).

In the closing laps of the Madison Bartko and Hondo took a lap which secured a third place overall finish. De Ketele and Lampater made a spirited effort to also gain a lap in an attempt to win overall, but Keisse and Schep neutralised their attack and defended their overall lead through to the finish. Keisse crossed the finish line of the Madison to raucous cheers of "Iljo! Iljo! Iljo!" from the partisan crowd.

Keisse earned his fourth victory in his hometown Gent Six Day, an emotional conclusion to an event he was only granted entry several weeks in advance. For teammate Peter Schep, the victory was his first in Gent. "This is fantastic," Keisse told Sporza, "after all the misery [about the doping violation] in recent months. It's been a great week...when you hear the room above. I have no words."