Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys will be at the start of the 82nd edition of the Lotto Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Ghent on Tuesday 14 November to defend their title from last year. Fabio Van den Bossche and Jules Hesters will also make their appearance at Kuipke next month. Van den Bossche will team up with Frenchman Benjamin Thomas, the Omnium European Champion. Hesters will be paired with New Zealand’s World Champion in the Points Race Aaron Gate.
At the centenary edition of the Lotto Six Days of Flanders-Ghent last year, Lindsay De Vylder recorded his first overall victory at Kuipke. For Robbe Ghys, it was already his third overall victory in a row, after two previous wins by Kenny De Ketele’s side. This year, De Vylder and Ghys are going for a second Ghent triumph as a duo. However, they will have to deal with the Madison World Champions, Dutchmen Yoeri Havik and Jan-Willem van Schip. At the Track Cycling World Championships in Glasgow in August, De Vylder and Ghys had their sights set on gold for a long time, but in the final sprint the Dutchmen attacked. The Belgians missed out on medals and finished fourth. Rematch in Ghent?
Fabio Van den Bossche has better memories of the past World Championships. The 23-year-old from Laarnen took bronze in the points race. Last year, Van den Bossche finished second in the Lotto Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Ghent alongside Yoeri Havik, this year he can try and do even better with Benjamin Thomas as his teammate. The 28-year-old Frenchman is an absolute world top rider on the track. He is the reigning European Champion and Vice-World Champion in the Omnium. At previous World Championships, he already managed to become World Champion in the Omnium and Madison twice, and Points Race World Champion once.
The current World Champion in the Points Race is Aaron Gate. The 32-year-old from New Zealand, who also took bronze in the Madison and Team Pursuit at the World Championships in Glasgow, will form a duo with Jules Hesters during the 82nd Lotto Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Ghent. The 24-year-old from Ghent, who lives a stone’s throw from Kuipke, finished fourth in last year’s Six Days of Ghent alongside German rider Tim Torn Teutenberg.
Kuipke almost sold out
Anyone who wants to attend the Lotto Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Ghent from 14 to 19 November should book a place as soon as possible. A limited number of seats for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday are still available. A small number of central square tickets are still available for Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
