De Buyst/De Ketele take lead in Rotterdam Six

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Jasper de Buyst and Kenny de Ketele lead the Rotterdam Six-Days after two nights. The Belgian Topsport Vlaanderen duo took important laps on Iljo Keisse/Niki Terpstra in the final madison. The Omega Phama-Quick Step riders should be the main rivals for the remainder of the race, with Dutch Madison champions Jens Mouris (Orica-Greenedge) and Wim Stroetinga, and Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen as important outsiders.

From the first Madison race in the Ahoy Arena, it became clear that it would come down to a battle between young talent Jasper de Buyst and his experienced partner De Ketele, and last year's winning pair Keisse/Terpstra. The intermediate sprints were fiercely contested between them but the overall victory went to Yoeri Havik/Nick Stöpler, who were the only team to take a lap in the race.

Still in the same lap but still behind on points, De Buyst/De Ketele started to come back during the other events of the night. The team elimination came down to a sprint between the two teams. Jasper de Buyst, only 20 years old, won it. It were Keisse/Terpstra however who broke the 100-point mark and took a bonus lap.

With the Belgians scoring more points in the time trial and winning the derny race, De Buyst/De Ketele also broke the 100-point mark and were on the same lap again as their Omega Pharma-Quick Step rivals. Both pairs didn't win any points in the second elimination to prepare for the final, 200-lap Madison race.

Only two points separated the two teams before the start of the last event. De Buyst/De Ketele were quick to gain a lap but Terptra/Keisse came back with a doublette, lapping the field twice in only 16 laps. In a late move with Mouris/Stroetinga and Havik/Stöpler, the Belgians took back a lap and outsmarted the defending champions. De Buyst sprinted to victory against Stroetinga and took the overnight lead by one lap and a margin of eight points.

“We took an early lap which gave us the advantage”, said De Ketele. “We were in control for a long time but the double lap by Terpstra and Keisse put us under pressure. Fortunately, we were able to straighten things up with a late attack.”

Mørkøv/Rasmussen and Stroetinga/Mouris also sit in the same lap as Keisse/Terpstra but the points difference between the leading teams and the rest of the field is getting bigger.

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