De Buyst and Lampater lead in Gent after opening night

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Jasper De Buyst and Leif Lampater lead the Six Days of Gent after the opening night of racing on the famous Kuipke velodrome. Buyst and Lampater got off to a fine start by claiming the first Madison and points race, and the duo scored consistently thereafter to defend their lead throughout the evening.

Racing in the colours of Topsport Vlaanderen, the Belgian-German duo hold an 8-point lead over Kenny De Ketele and Gijs Van Hoecke (Team Baloise), while local favourite Iljo Keisse and partner Wim Stroetinga lie in third place, a further six points back.

The evening’s racing was marred by two heavy crashes, with world scratch race champion Martyn Irvine and Australia’s Luke Roberts coming a cropper. Roberts suffered a suspected fractured collarbone, while Irvine sustained muscular damage to his hip. The Irishman had originally feared a fracture to his femur, but like Roberts, his Gent Six is over.

Their respective partners, Franco Marvulli and Marc Hester, look set to ride together for the remainder of the race.