| Fat Nick is a lucky chap. He went to watch the last three nights of this year's Ghent Six, or the Zesdaagse van Vlaanderen, to use its proper title. Have a look at his photos. |  |
| Fat Nick is a lucky chap. He went to watch the last three nights of this year's Ghent Six, or the Zesdaagse van Vlaanderen, to use its proper title. Have a look at his photos. | |
This year's Ghent Six day cycle race saw the lead change hands virtually every night in a hotly contested race, and the result was not decided until the final session. Even on the last day, there were five teams fighting for overall victory. In the end, local hero Etienne de Wilde was too strong to stop, winning his ninth Ghent Six at the age of 39. It was the first 6-day win for his young partner, Matthew Gilmore, but with the class he demonstrated in Ghent, I expect to see Matt win many more Sixes - just like his dad won a few in the early 1970's. Word has also reached Fat Nick's ears that Matt's mother is the sister of a certain Barry Hoban's wife....
Meantime, Britain's James Notley and Phil West (winners of the Madison event at last weekend's track meeting at the Manchester velodrome) were riding the amateur Ghent Six. They put on a brave performance in the face of some stiff competition (the winning Swiss amateurs had also won the Munich amateur Six this year), and finished with three teams behind them. Well done James and Phil!
| Position | Riders | Points |
| 1 | Etienne de Wilde - Matthew Gilmore (Belgium - Australia) | 464 |
| 2 | Jens Veggerby - Jimmi Madsen (Denmark) | 359 |
| One lap down | ||
| 3 | Silvio Martinello - Marco Villa (Italy) | 478 |
| 4 | Adriano Baffi - Frank Corvers (Italy - Belgium) | 415 |
| Two laps down | ||
| 5 | Bruno Risi - Kurt Betschart (Switzerland) | 435 |
| Ten laps down | ||
| 6 | Jakob Piil - Tayeb Braikia (Denmark) | 385 |
| Thirteen laps down: | ||
| 7 | Carsten Wolf - Gerd Dörich (Germany) | 307 |
| 16 laps down: | ||
8 |
Andreas Kappes - Lorenzo Lapage (Germany - Belgium) | 212 |
| 28 laps down: | ||
| 9 | Urs Freuler - Andrea Colinelli (Switzerland - Italy) | 225 |
| 34 laps down: | ||
| 10 | Paul Van Hyfte - Rik Van Slijcke (Belgium) | 172 |
| 42 laps down | ||
| 11 | Scott McGrory - Matthew Allan (Australia) | 192 |
| 51 laps down | ||
| 12 | Steven de Neef - Danny Baeyens (Belgium) | 149 |
Do you have any news about the Ghent
Six? Drop an e-mail to 
if you do, or send him a fax at 0044 161 476 2914 - Fat
Nick reads Dutch, so grotty photocopies of results sheets and
local newspapers are gratefully received!
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