Sunday, April 27, 2025

Gent Six Days 2011 – Night Five

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HomeDiariesGent Six Days 2011 - Night Five

We used to get to park the camper inside the old exhibition hall which adjoins the velodrome – but ‘safety’ means we have to park outside, adjacent to the old hall, for our work at the Gent Six Days 2011.

In the morning it means you have a long walk to the shower, previously you could lurch the 10 metres, zombie-like, to the shower cubicle and be reborn.

But I opted to stumble down to the paper shop to get the ‘Gentenaar‘ – it’s one of my sad rituals to buy l’Equipe and the Gazzetta at the Tour and Giro every day, and I do it in Gent, too.

Some of the sixes aren’t particularly well served by the local press, but in bike mad Flanders the Gentenaar rarely disappoints.

My shower was a life changing experience but I couldn’t understand why I could hear the Dernys up on the boards, early on a Saturday.

Phil and Jurgen was the reason – lapping away behind the buzzing little horrors in preparation for their evening pursuit match.

Gent Six Days 2011
Jurgen loosens the legs off before ‘battling’ Phil.

Gilbert is a nice man and no Diva, but after their training was over it was apparent he’s the Boss; Roelandts kept quietly in background with a little smile on his face – no doubt thinking of the Euro-stuffed envelope coming his way that night.

Gent Six Days 2011
A pretty healthy hourly rate for Phil today.

I got some time on the ‘net in the afternoon to catch up with world happenings in cycling.

I saw on Sporza that Nys won at Koksijde, but Pauwels wasn’t too chuffed about old Sven’s line in the finish sprint and was pretty vocal about it.

Gent Six Days 2011
Stybar’s bike says it all. Pic courtesy of Dave Martin.

Martin, Gill, John Anderson, Brian Dempster and Dave Martin all went up to the coast to watch it.I wished I had too, but there’s none of that R & R stuff for runners – especially at ‘t Kuipke.

Pauwels gub was firmly shut the next day at Gieten, when Sven nailed him fair and square.

My heart would love Sven to wear the rainbow jersey again – but my head says ‘Stybar.’

Gent Six Days 2011
Jurgen prepares for the ‘off’.
Gent Six Days 2011
Phil managed the race well – it was close until the last lap.
Gent Six Days 2011
Danny Stam was officially presented tonight, with his fellow riders lined up trackside.

But it was soon time for the UiV cup – that’s the U23 race.

The GB lads Owain Doull and Simon Yates had it pretty well sewn up.

GB has done well in the U23 with Carver/Law winning in ’08 and Kennaugh/Blythe in ’07.

Maurice Burton should have won in ’75 but his partner sold it – it was like that back then.

Gent Six Days 2011
A Belgian with a Scottish name: Tosh, waits for his punctured rear wheel to be replaced.

The pro chases seemed very ‘flat’ to me – or maybe I have on rose tinted specs for the ‘good old days’ with Sercu, Merckx, De Wilde, Risi, and Keisse?

But a sure sign is that there was ne’er a mention of lap or track records in any event.

Gent Six Days 2011
Wim Stroetinga and Franco.
Gent Six Days 2011
Steven Deneef also got a retirement sendoff tonight.

As entertainment it was good, the colour, speed, the sights, sounds, smells all make for an assault on the senses – especially if you’ve had a few beers.

Gent Six Days 2011
Iljo had to sit the racing out, but once he was spotted the crowd chanting of his name even drowned out Kiss’ “I was made for lovin’ you”!
Gent Six Days 2011
Kenny de Ketele looks sharp.

But if you’ve seen madison racing at it’s best – then you had to be disappointed by the chases.

Scottish six day fan Stuart Anthony was over and his take was more positive than mine;

“Kneisky/Hester looked great.

“Jesper Mørkøv will be as good as his big brother.

“Dillier and Imhof looked as strong as a couple of bears; they were good in Berlin when finding their feet last year.

“Bengsch is a big strong boy who goes well in Berlin but to be fair he probably toiled on a short track like Gent.”

All fair comment, so maybe I’ve been spending too much time with Vik?

Bed at 03:00 am again – ugghh!

Gent Six Days 2011
The judges view.

Gent Six Days - Results from Night Five

Sprints

1 Martin Blaha / Voltech Hacecky (Cze) Oudendijk 13 pts
2 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 9
3 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto 6
4 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 6
5 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS 6
6 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 5
7 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas 5
8 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey 3
9 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur 3
10 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) ADMB 3
11 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 3
12 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 2
13 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK 2

Team elimination

1 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 20 pts
2 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) ADMB 12
3 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 10
4 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 8
5 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur 6
6 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 4
7 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto
8 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK
9 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas
10 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey
11 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS
12 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen

Flying lap

1 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey 8.76
2 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 8.81
3 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 9.90
5 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK 9.01
6 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto 9.06
7 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 9.16
8 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS 9.19
9 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur 9.19
10 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 9.24
11 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas 9.40
12 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 9.67

Madison

1 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto 20 pts
2 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 12
@ 1 lap
3 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 10
4 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 8
5 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK 6
6 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 4
7 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey
8 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) ADMB
@ 2 laps
9 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur
10 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen
@ 3 laps
11 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS
@ 4 laps
12 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas

Derny 1

1 Steven Deneef Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 5 pts
2 Claudio Imhof (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 4
3 Luke Roberts (Aus) Caruur 3
4 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) GEKA Kaas 2
5 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) VDK 1
6 Robert Bengsch (Ger) AVS

Elimination

1 Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS 10 pts
2 Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur 6
3 Robert Bartko (Ger) Mercator verzekeringen 5
4 Voltech Hacecky (Cze) Oudendijk 4
5 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) ADMB 3
6 Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas 2
7 Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK
8 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales
9 Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen
10 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto
11 Franco Marvulli (Swi) Callant – Santens
12 Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
13 Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey

Derny 2

1 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 5 pts
2 Danny Stam (Ned) Topsport Vlaanderen 4
3 Peter Schep (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey 3
4 Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto 2
5 Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 1
6 Marc Hester (Den) ADMB

500m time trial

1 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey 27.66
2 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 28.03
3 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 28.08
4 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) ADMB 28.42
5 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 28.54
6 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto 28.94
7 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK 29.28
8 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur 29.29
9 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 30.17
10 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas 30.68
11 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS 30.88
12 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 31.63

Madison

1 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey 20 pts
2 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 12
3 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 10
4 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 8
5 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto 6
6 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) ADMB 4
7 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
@ 1 lap
8 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen
9 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK
10 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur
11 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS
12 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas

Derny 3

1 Robert Bartko (Ger) Mercator verzekeringen 5 pts
2 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto 4
3 Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey 3
4 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) ADMB 2
5 Franco Marvulli (Swi) Callant – Santens 1
6 Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur

Elimination

1 Robert Bengsch (Ger) AVS 10 pts
2 Claudio Imhof (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 6
3 Luke Roberts (Aus) Caruur 5
4 Steven Deneef Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 4
5 Marc Hester (Den) ADMB 3
6 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) GEKA Kaas 2
7 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) VDK
8 Danny Stam (Ned) Topsport Vlaanderen
9 Peter Schep (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey
10 Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen
11 Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto
12 Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens

Derny 4

1 Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 5 pts
2 Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK 4
3 Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 3
4 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 2
5 Voltech Hacecky (Cze) Oudendijk 1
6 Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas

Supersprint

1 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 20 pts
2 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas 12
3 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS 10
4 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) ADMB 8
5 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur 6
6 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK 4
7 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen
8 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
9 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey
10 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen
11 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto
12 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales

Gent Six Days - Overall standings after Night Five

1 Robert Bartko (Ger) / Kenny De Ketele (Bel) Mercator verzekeringen 292 pts
2 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) / Leif Lampater (Ger) Lotto 241
@ 1 lap
3 Franco Marvulli (Swi) / Christian Grasmann (Ger) Callant – Santens 330
4 Peter Schep / Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Mega Doe-het-zelf Deschacht – John Saey 297
5 Morgan Kneisky (Fra) / Marc Hester (Den) ADMB 278
6 Danny Stam (Ned) / Tim Mertens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 192
@ 4 laps
7 Claudio Imhof / Silvan Dillier (Swi) Eurotyre Bandencentrales 252
@ 6 laps
8 Luke Roberts / Glenn O’Shea (Aus) Caruur 166
9 Steven Deneef (Bel) / Andreas Muller (Aut) Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 102
@ 8 laps
10 Alexander Aeschbach (Swi) / Leon Van Bon (Ned) VDK 128
@ 14 laps
11 Robert Bengsch / Marcel Barth (Ger) AVS 121
@ 15 laps
12 Jesper Mørkøv (Den) / Benjamin Edmuller (Ger) GEKA Kaas 85
@ 22 laps
13 Martin Blaha / Voltech Hacecky (Cze) Oudendijk 67
Gent Six Days 2011
The racing was paused for the “show”, which was this fellow singing like a girl. Just awful.
Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed was involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he was a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He was also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months often worked in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed was a highly respected journalist, his tales of chasing the Giro, Tour, Vuelta, Classics and World Championships - and his much-loved winter Six Days - are legendary, never the same twice, they gave our site an edge other cycling media could never duplicate or challenge. Sadly Ed passed away in January 2025, two years after suffering a devastating stroke.

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