November 21, 2007 (Ghent, Belgiium) – Under a warm (12°C) rainy evening in Gent, the 67th edition of the z6sdaagse Vlaanderen Gent cycling classic commenced. The evening began with an unveiling of a plaque in the Kuipke foyer, in memory of Isaac Galvez, a Madison World Champion from Spain, who died one year ago in a tragic bicycle crash at the Gent 6-day.

Officials and riders were present and the “˜patron’ of the six-day riders, 39-year-old Bruno Risi from Switzerland unveiled the memorial plaque. The plaque is in the same location of a bust of Tommy Simpson, a former resident of Gent, who also died tragically on Mont Ventoux in the 1967 Tour de France. (The bust was removed several years ago).

One rider, Dimitri De Fauw from Belgium was especially touched by the death as Galvez crashed into him and then into the metal balustrade at the top rim of the track. The balustrade has since been padded with high impact foam, as have several metal posts near the track. De Fauw has been an up and coming rider with fantastic speed, agility and enthusiasm. After the accident he became severely depressed and strongly considering quitting professional cycling. Time and therapy heals and De Fauw is back, recently coming in second place at the Six jours de Grenoble with his Swiss partner Alexander Aeschbach.

Traditionally the z6sdaagse Vlaanderen Gent starts with the introduction of each of the 13 team’s and the official signing in on a large start list. The team of Bruno Risi/Franco Marvulli are wearing their World Madison Championships rainbow jerseys. The the Kuipke is filling up to a near capacity. The Middenplein is packed and the crowd is anticipating plenty of action.

The first race on the evening card is the 60 lap Points Race. This is a warm–up where the riders test their legs and their lungs. A rider form each of the thirteen teams starts and then his teammate changes after 30 laps. Keisse and Bartko win the Points Race and make it known that they are the favourites and the team to beat. The next race on the evening’s line-up is the Team Elimination. The last three teams are Keisse/Bartko, Slippens/Stam and Risi/ Marvulli. Keisse and Bartko are eliminated and then it is showdown for the last two teams. In the end Risi/Marvulli win over Slippens/Stam.

The Chase
The first Madison of the night is a 40 minute plus 10-lap affair. The first teams to attack were Keisse/Bartko and Risi/Marvulli. They gained a lap in the first ten minutes. Then it was Slippens/Stam, Beikirch/Mohs chasing to gain a lap. Mertens/Muller were next and we now had five teams tied at the front.

Wiggins/Cavendish are definitely flat and quickly they are four laps down. Could be a long six-day race for the British boys. The yellow and black teams of Luke Roberts and Marc Hester attack and gain a lap and now are only one lap down. Then Risi/Marvulli, Slippens/Stam, DeKetele/Villa are off the front. DeKetele/Villa join the top six at zero laps. Five minutes later Slippens/Stam get it going with Beikirch/Mohs in the chase and gain a lap. That gets Keisse/Bartko, Risi/Marvulli off the front and they quickly get the lap back. Not to be left behind Mertens/Muller try and gain a lap unsuccessfully. At 39:40 Keisse is off on a tear and with six laps to go they have 25 meters on the charging peloton. Three laps to go and Keisse/Bartko are caught by Risi/Marvulli Slippens/ Stam. The Dutch duo win at the line with Risi/Marvulli second and Keisse/ Bartko third.

With the first Madison completed the standings are telling. To be expected the World Madison Champions and Six-Day winners in Dortmund and Munich, Risi/Marvulli are in the lead with 48 points. Keisse/Bartko are nine points behind in second and the flatlanders from the Nederland, Slippens/Stam are in third, 13 points in arrears. The German team of Beikirch/Mohs round out the top four teams.
The pack: DeKetele/Villa and Mertens/Muller are one lap down. Roberts/Hester at 2 laps down. The Belgian/Swiss team De Fauw/Aeschbach and the Czechs Lazar/Kankovsky are at three laps down.

At the intermission the teams struggling to stay in the race include: Schets/De Poortere at nine laps, Wiggins/Cavendish at seven laps (Wiggins is a former 6-day winner here in Gent with Matthew Gilmore in 2003) and Cocquyt/De Neef and the Dutch Team Stroetinga/Pronk at four laps.

After the first Intermission the 1st 60-lap Derny race begins: Kenny DeKetele and derny rider Michael Vaarten take the lead. A derny is a motorized pedal bike with the gas tank in front of the handlebars. The derny rider has to pedal at all times, but at a much slower rate. At 25 laps to go Marvulli/Dieter Durst are in the lead with Stam/Bruno Walgrave close behind. With 18 laps to go De Neef/Luc Van Uytfange try the front. Stam quickly rises to the front of the pack as the driving sound of the music gets the crowd cheering. All of a sudden with 7 laps to go Wiggins/Joop Zijlaard charges to the front and hammer.

With three laps to go it is Bradley Wiggins and Danny Stam neck and neck. Kenny DeKetele and the experienced Michael Vaarten derny driver drive to the front with a lap to go and win by several bike lengths.

The single elimination starts and the first rider to be eliminated is Kankovsky, followed by Risi, Villa, Slippens, Hester, Cocquyt, Schets, and Cavendish. The final three Pronk, Aeschbach and Mohs. Pronk goes and Erik Mohs beats Aeschbach at the line.

The action continues as the Derny 2 of the evening begin with another 60-lap edition. The lead changes several times until 13 laps to go when Bartko/Vaarten challenge Beikirch/Durst and De Fauw/Zijlaard. Andreas Beikirch and his derny driver Durst Dieter sprint to the front. Robert Bartko/Michael Vaarten chase and Dimitri De Fauw/Joop Zijlaard follow in third. Bartko/Vaarten come over the top in the final corner to win at the line by 1/2 a bike length.

The Flying 166m lap
This is a test of strength and speed and the racers go off in pairs warming and winding up for 1.5 laps, then usually in the final corner, the front rider hand slings his partner down the track. The rider races at a breakneck speed on the black line for the final 166 meters throwing his bike at the line. Like a time trial, the team in last place starts first and the race leaders go last. The team of Keisse/Bartko are in the lead with only Risi/Marvulli to ride. Keisse/Bartko win by fractions of a second 64.164 kph to Risi/Marvulli’s 64.134 kph.
The Derny final race of the evening is in full swing with 7 laps to go Bartko/Zijlaard take off. In the final laps Beikirch/Durst and win over De Ketele/Vaarten and Bartko/Zijlaard.

The Scratch race for those riders not in the Derny Final is off and running with 19 laps of action. Twenty riders in one long line ride the black line. With three laps to go Keisse charges to the front as the speeds approach 60 kph. In the final straightaway Risi comes over the top to win by 1/2 a bike length.

The final race of the evening is on the docket, the 30-minute Madison plus 10 laps. DeKetele/Villa are ahead after seven minutes of action. Roberts/Hester join the front runners gaining a lap, then Mertens/Muller and Risi/Marvulli gain a lap. Now there are four teams at the front of the pack at zero laps.

The action is non-stop as the riders gain and lose laps. Like the first Madison of the evening the Belgian pair of Schets/De Poortere and the Great Britain Team Bradley Wiggins/ Marc Cavendish are struggling to stay in the race. Risi/Marvulli are the victors with Keisse/Bartko second and the surprising German pair Beikirch/Mohs in third.

The Standings after Day 1

1. Risi/Marvulli 0 laps 87 points
2. Keisse/Bartko 0 laps 81 points
3. Slippens/Stam 0 laps 50 points
4. Beikirch/Mohs 0 laps 45 points
5. De Ketele/Villa 0 laps 40 points
6. Roberts/Hester 1 lap 20 points
7. Mertens/Muller 1 lap 20 points
8. De Fauw/Aeschbach 4 laps 51 points
9. Lazar/Kankovsky 4 laps 18 points
10. Cocquyt/Deneef 5 laps 7 points
11. Stroetinga/Pronk 6 laps 8 points
12. Wiggins/Cavendish 10 laps 22 points
13. Schets/Depoortere 12 laps 16 points