November 26, 2007 (Gent, Belgium) – This is the finale day of the z6sdaagse Vlaanderen Gent. Being Sunday, the race commenced at 12:00 noon. Most of the riders and certainly the fans were still at Kuipke only 10 hours ago.

The action started fast and furious with the UIV Talent Cup Final. The Great Britain boys, Peter Kenaugh and Adam Blythe did an excellent job protecting their lead and animating the race. The second place Pavel Subrt/Marek Mixa, the Czech boys attempted to gain a lap during the last ten minutes of the Madison. The Kenaugh/Blythe team did an excellent job of riding tempo at 48-50 kph marking the Belgian duo Davy Tuytens and Tosh Van Der Sande who presented a greater danger if they gained a lap as they were only down one lap at 96 points.

Vrt Nieuws, Sporza, the Belgian National TV are here today and are broadcasting the race throughout the Flemish and French parts of Belgium and also parts of the Nederland’s . Henrik Elmgreen the head of the Union International Velodromes (UIV) is in the audience.

The first event of the afternoon is the Points Race. The third and fourth teams in the standing are on the attack gaining points. Slippens/Stam and Beikirch/Mohs are 1 and 2 after the first 12 minutes. With five laps to go at 14 minutes the riders are starting to line up for the final push. Keisse moves to the front as does Stam. There is a charge for the line and Keisse gets the last sprint but the overall winners are Slippens/Stam. The Dutch duo now have 291 points and 1 lap and only need nine points to get 300 points and gain a bonus lap that would bring them on par in laps with Risi/Marvulli and Keisse/Bartko.

The Team Elimination (Miss and Out) is now on. The last three teams are Wiggins/Cavendish, Risi/Marvulli and Slippens/Stam. The British boys get eliminated and it is now Risi vs. Slippens and Risi comes from behind to nip Slippens by a wheel length. With this victory, Risi/Marvulli increase their lead to 12 points ahead of second place Keisse/Bartko and 46 points ahead of third place Slippens/Stam. The top three teams are at zero laps.

One important difference of this Sunday afternoons racing is that the stands are filled with children and their parents which has brought a whole different atmosphere to the stadium. Another important point here in Gent is this community’s rich history of cycling because Het Volk and Gent-Wevelgem are staged from here. The spectators are very knowledgeable of cycling, track racing in particular and anticipate the attacks, so when the racers get into a ‘jam’ the stands erupt with cheers of encouragement. The 500m Time Trail is on and the early mark is set by Luke Roberts and Marc Heater at 62.198 kph. The Czech racers Lazar/Kankovsky set a new mark at 62.327 kph.

During the intermission people are literally dancing in the stands to the sounds of Eddy Wally, a local entertainer. At the pre-race press conference Patrick Sercu and Rob Discart, the race organizers, were very pleased with the number of cycling fans that have come out to view the elite track racers. What was especially notable was the performance of the older racers like Marco Villa from Italy and of course Bruno Risi, who turns 40 years old next year. The UIV Talents Cup was a great success with lots of new talent learning the 6-day racing ropes. The only disappointment was Mark Cavendish, who showed up here for a big salary and underestimated the fitness required to perform at this elite level.

The racing continued with two Derny Finals. The first race was for the riders in 7th to 12th position teams and the second for the riders in the 1st to 6th position. The first group was won by Bradley Wiggins and the second by Iljo Keisse. The Elimination final was won by Wim Stroetinga and the Keirin Finale by Alois Kankovsky. Three points separate the front runners Risi/Marvulli and local favourites Keisse/Bartko, 371 to 368, both at 0 laps.

The Supersprint is en course; this is the 80th race of the Gent six-day. Lazar-Kankovsky are the winners. In the 166m Flying Lap again the men from Czechoslovakia rip up the boards in 8.64 seconds or 68.650 kph, the fastest time of the week.

The finale of the 67th Z6sdaagse Vlaanderen Gent has commenced, a 60-minute Madison and for the last 50 laps the riders sprint for points on the 10th lap of the countdown. The Madison’s events this week have been 30 and 40 minutes and today we have the big one, sixty gruelling minutes of all out racing. At 20 minutes there have been some attacks and laps gained but the top standing are just what they were when the race began. At 21:15 Iljo Keisse and Robert Bartko attack but are unable to break away. Bartko is being marked closely by Marvulli as they are chasing Slippens/Stam and Steven DeNeef-Nicky Cocquyt. At 30 minutes all is copasetic and then Mertens/Muller, Beikirch/Mohs and De Ketele/Villa gain a lap. Slippens is off the front with Roberts/Hester in chase. Bartko/Keisse, Risi/Marvulli feel the threat and launch a counterattack. At thirty-six minutes and Bartko is off the front with Risi in tow.

Almost every seat in this 7,000 seat sports venue is full and the sports fans eyes are glued to the track. Jacq van Reijendam, a six-day historian and statistician has predicted that Bruno Risi will want to win his 50th six-day race here in Gent. At forty minutes the racers are riding tempo. It’s 43:30, Keisse attacks and Risi is in chase. Both teams gain a lap. Wim Stroetinga/Matte Pronk are off the front with De Ketele/Villa and Beikirch/Mohs close behind and at 47:20 they gain a lap. Almost immediately Keisse/Bartko attack with Luke Roberts/Marc Hester and Risi/Marvulli chasing.

We are now into the last 20 minutes of this epic. The riders are at the point where there will be a sprint of a life time every 10 laps, counting down to 0. The first sprint was won by Marvulli with Bartko second and Villa third. The next sprint had Risi winning with Keisse 2nd and Villa 3rd. The third sprint was won by Risi again with Villa second and Keisse 3rd. This is not looking good for the local favourite. Slippens/Stam attack hoping to gain a lap, but suddenly the red team of Keisse/Bartko, sponsored by Chocolates Jacques, attack with ten laps to go. Bartko is screaming around the black line. Gritting his teeth, his face red from exertion, Keisse is driving like a man possessedS. unbelievably they gain the lap. At the finish line Keisse/Bartko win the madison and the 67th Z6sdaagse Vlaanderen Gent.

Six-day racing is an important part of the winter cycling scene in Europe. In Canada, we now have three six-day races during that period too. In October, there was a six-day race at the Forest City Velodrome in London, Ontario and another race will take place in the spring of 2008, usually in March or April. The other six-day event takes place in Burnaby, British Columbia at the Burnaby Velodrome. For 6-day racing reports from Europe and Canada visit the Canadian internet site www.6dayracing.ca .

Final Standings:
1. Keisse Bartko, 0, 402 points
2. Risi Marvulli, 1 lap, 407
3. Slippens Stam, 1, 317
4. De Ketele Villa, 8, 244
5. Beikirch Mohs, 8, 216
6. Mertens Muller, 15, 136
7. Roberts Hester, 24, 203
8. De Fauw Aeschbach, 26, 285
9. Lazar Kankovsky, 33, 178
10. Wiggins Cavendish, 39, 172
11. Cocquyt Deneef, 46, 109
12. Stroetinga Pronk, 48, 136
13. Schets Depoortere, 82, 140