Fabio Van den Bossche and Lindsay De Vylder will be chasing a second consecutive overall victory together in the Lotto Six Days of Flanders-Ghent from 17 through 22 November. Another top Belgian duo is made up of Jules Hesters and the retiring Jasper De Buyst. Four-time overall winner Robbe Ghys will be riding alongside Dutchman Yoeri Havik. German Tim Torn Teutenberg and Briton Mark Stewart, who both won gold at the Track Cycling World Championships in China last week, will also be teaming up in Ghent.
Four of the twelve teams set to compete in the 85th edition of the Lotto Six Days of Flanders-Ghent next month have been announced. Fabio Van den Bossche and Lindsay De Vylder will line up as defending champions. Both brought home a medal from the World Championships in Shanghai: Van den Bossche took silver in the omnium, whilst De Vylder won bronze in the scratch race. In the Madison, the Belgian duo narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth.
Jules Hesters also enjoyed success in Shanghai, winning bronze in the elimination race. In Ghent, the Ghent native will ride alongside Jasper De Buyst, who is set to retire after the Lotto Six Days of Flanders-Ghent. The 32-year-old De Buyst is a two-time overall winner (2013, 2014) of the Ghent Six Days. Four-time overall winner Robbe Ghys (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) returns to the Kuipke after a year’s absence and will team up with the Dutchman Yoeri Havik.
Two World Champions from the Shangai World Championships, Tim Torn Teutenberg and Mark Stewart, are also on the start list in Ghent. The German is World Champion in the elimination race and bronze medallist in the omnium, whilst the Scot is the new World Champion in the points race. Both Teutenberg and Stewart have competed several times at the Lotto Six Days of Flanders-Ghent, but never before in a team.
Over the coming weeks, the names of all participating pairs will be announced.
Lotte Kopecky & Hélène Hesters
As in previous years, the Lotto Six Days of Flanders-Ghent will once again feature the Fashion For Cycling Ladies Cup: the programme on Friday 20 November features an individual elimination race and a points race, followed by a scratch race and a points race on Saturday.
The biggest star will be Lotte Kopecky, who claimed her third world title in five years in the elimination race in Shanghai. Hélène Hesters, the reigning European Champion in the scratch race, will also be taking part.
