For the first time in 13 years, the Lotto Six Days Flanders-Ghent will once again welcome Belgian World Madison Champions. Fabio Van den Bossche and Lindsay De Vylder top the bill for the 84th edition, which starts next Tuesday. They will be challenged by eleven other Belgian and international top duos. Para-cyclist Niels Verschaeren will be the third Belgian World Champion in action at the Kuipke next week. Spectators in Ghent can also look forward to the return of Lotte Kopecky.
In 2012, Kenny De Ketele and Gijs Van Hoecke donned the rainbow jersey at the Lotto Six Days Flanders-Ghent, and this year that honour goes to Fabio Van den Bossche and Lindsay De Vylder. The duo will be paired together for the first time in Ghent. Last year, Van den Bossche took the overall victory alongside Frenchman Benjamin Thomas, who forms a duo with his compatriot Oscar Nilsson-Julien this year. De Vylder has already won two overall victories in Ghent.
In addition to Van den Bossche/De Vylder and Thomas/Nilsson-Julien, Jasper De Buyst and retiring Elia Viviani, who capped off the World Championships in Chile with gold in the elimination race, are also ones to watch. The Dutchmen Yanne Dorenbos and Vincent Hoppezak, the reigning European Madison Champions, are also podium contenders. The same goes for Ghent native Jules Hesters, who is riding alongside another lightning-fast Dutchman, the experienced Yoeri Havik.
Germans Roger Kluge and Tim Torn Teutenberg also combine experience with youthful vigour. ‘TTT’ grabbed three gold medals at the European Track Championships in Heusden-Zolder earlier this year. Another impressive German to keep an eye on next week is Moritz Augenstein. The World Champion in the scratch race will make his debut in Ghent with Dutchman Philip Heijnen as his teammate.
The 84th Lotto Six Days Flanders-Ghent starts on Tuesday 18 November and culminates on Sunday 23 November. The U23 AVS Cup – the Six Days of the Future with teams from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and Germany – opens the action every day.
Participants 84th Lotto Six days Flanders-Ghent:
• Fabio Van den Bossche (Bel) – Lindsay De Vylder (Bel)
• Yanne Dorenbos (Neth) – Vincent Hoppezak (Neth)
• Benjamin Thomas (Fra) – Oscar Nilsson-Julien (Fra)
• Roger Kluge (Ger) – Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger)
• Moritz Augenstein (Ger) – Philip Heijnen (Neth)
• Yoeri Havik (Neth) – Jules Hesters (Bel)
• Noah Vandenbranden (Bel) – Gianluca Pollefliet (Bel)
• Mark Stewart (GB) – Tom Crabbe (Bel)
• Milan Van Den Haute (Bel) – Clément Petit (Fra)
• Michele Scartezzini (Ita) – Thibaut Bernard (Bel)
• Nolan Huysmans (Bel) – Matijs Van Strijthem (Bel)
• Jasper De Buyst (Bel) – Elia Viviani (Ita)
Fashion For Cycling Ladies Cup
On Friday and Saturday, Belgium’s best women track cyclists will be in action at the Kuipke in the Fashion For Cycling Ladies Cup, which consists of an individual elimination race and a points race. Lotte Kopecky, recently recovered from a broken vertebra, and Shari Bossuyt are the stars of the show. The other Belgians at the start are Luca Vierstraete, Lani Wittevrongel, Laerke Expeels, Katrijn De Clercq, Marith Vanhove and Laura Fivé.
They will be challenged by several established international names, including Anita Stenberg. The 33-year-old Norwegian is the reigning European Champion in the points race.
Proximus Sprint Challenge
On the closing day of the 84th Lotto Six Days Flanders-Ghent, the speed in the Kuipke will be pushed to even higher levels thanks to the Proximus Sprint Challenge, a sprint tournament between four Belgian talents: Lowie Nulens, Runar De Schrijver, Yeno Vingerhoets and Thibault Van Laere. Also on Sunday, 18-year-old Zita Gheysens will attempt to break Nicky Degrendele’s track records for the track lap and the 500 metres.
G-sport
On Wednesday and Sunday, Belgium’s best Paralympic athletes will compete against a strong British selection. The Belgian delegation is led by Niels Verschaeren, who became Sprint World Champion at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio last month. The other Belgian para-track cyclists at the Kuipke are Lennert Vanlathem, Ewoud Vromant, Jarno Thierens and the tandem duo Milan Thomas/Mathias Lefeber.
There will be even more G-sport on Friday with several races for riders with intellectual disabilities, in collaboration with Special Olympics.
Live op TV
The 84th Lotto Six Days Flanders-Ghent can be watched live every day on Proximus’ Pickx+ Sports 1. The opening night programme will even be available for everyone to watch via Proximus Showcase and/or livestream (https://cycling.pickx.be). You can also follow all the action at the Kuipke closely via Play Sports. On Sunday, Sporza will broadcast the final on VRT1 from 3.35 p.m.
Last Tickets
Would you like to be at the Kuipke yourself? The very last tickets are on sale here.
