Ghent Sixday opens

All eyes at the 2005 Ghent Sixday will be on the pairing of Matt Gilmore and Iljo Keisse, riding their first Ghent Six together. Last year, Gilmore went into the final night in the lead partnered with Robert Bartko and had to withdraw from the race due to illness. Based in Ghent, and holding Belgian nationality, Gilmore has been the local favourite since Etienne de Wilde retired from the six day circuit. Keisse is also a local Ghent rider, and has huge support from the Belgian crowd, so pairing the two of them together is a guaranteed crowd-puller.

Keisse looks very young, but is actually an experienced six-day rider now. He notched up his first six-day win in this year's Grenoble Six, partnered by the experienced Gilmore.