Spectacle in ‘t Kuipke: Benjamin Thomas and Fabio Van den Bossche counter at the right time and win the Six Days
Benjamin Thomas and Fabio Van den Bossche have made the 83rd edition of the Ghent Six Days their own. The omnium champions were able to dethrone leaders Robbe Ghys and Lindsay De Vylder in the exciting final team race. With a nose for the right moment, they struck coldly.
Thanks to a comfortable points bonus (more than 40 units) over the 3 other couples in the same lap, Robbe Ghys and Lindsay De Vylder were able to start the final team race quite defensively.
Numbers 3 and 4 – Jules Hesters and the Germans – shadowed each other and regularly tried to outwit the top favorites together.
No one was caught slipping, not even with the double with which Fabio Van den Bossche made ‘t Kuipke gurgle with joy.
But the Ghent party palace went completely crazy thanks to Hesters: the hyperactive Ghent resident continued to rage like a bull.
That pounding yielded little to nothing and after a short breather, Hesters gave it his all again when the laps started ticking away.
Ghys and De Vylder had to pull the chestnuts out of the fire, Benjamin Thomas refused to do the dirty work.
The French ice rabbit played it cleverly and struck in turn when Ghys and De Vylder had whistled back attacker Hesters.
This time the leaders were speechless, crowd-puller Thomas and Van den Bossche raced to the final victory after an exciting and fascinating denouement.
Thanks to Hesters? “He was heroic, we benefited”
For the first time, Fabio Van den Bossche was able to triumph in Ghent. “We always had a bit of a surplus in the team races this week,” he said about his week.
“Today we tried to play out that Lindsay and Robbe as leaders had to control 3 duos. We waited and looked for the right moment. We succeeded.”
Van den Bossche speaks of “a super year” thanks to an Olympic medal. “The track remains special and I will continue to do this part. I can tick this off, but I still have goals. Also on the road, yes.”
Olympic champion Benjamin Thomas lived up to his reputation. “Winning in this mythical place means a lot. The audience and the spectacle are the big winners.”
“We were the hunters this week. Jules (Hesters) rode a heroic team race and put a lot of pressure on the leaders. We benefited from that. We knew we had a cartouche and we had to use it at the right time.”
“We have been very dominant this week,” said Lindsay De Vylder. “But the winners had a fantastic final day. We were perhaps the strongest couple throughout the week, and they were today.”
“I was able to make a difference this year,” said teammate Robbe Ghys, “and we were able to score points in the time trial numbers. But perhaps I made a tactical mistake by suddenly riding behind the Germans when that was not necessary. I had completely mishandled.”
Jules Hesters was the trendsetter, but accepted the verdict. “It is impressive how the winners managed to get by at the end. It was a very hard race, Ghys and De Vylder had to close everything.”
“Thomas took the lap with Van den Bossche that we could not take. That was at the most difficult moment of the race. You saw that Thomas still had some surplus and he made optimal use of it.”
| Ghent Six Days 2024: status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| points | round | ||
| 1. | Benjamin Thomas (Fra)/Fabio Van den Bossche (Bel) | 338 | |
| 2. | Lindsay De Vylder (Bel)/Robbe Ghys (Bel) | 370 | +1 |
| 3. | Jules Hesters (Bel)/Aaron Gate (NZl) | 317 | +1 |
| 4. | Roger Kluge (Dui)/Theo Reinhardt (Dui) | 134 | +2 |
| 5. | Mark Stewart (GBr)/Philip Heijnen (Ned) | 150 | +15 |
| 6. | Jan-Willem van Schip (Ned)/Yanne Dorenbos (Ned) | 169 | +19 |
| 7. | Oscar Nilsson-Julien (From)/Valentin Tabellion (From) | 144 | +33 |
| 8. | Noah Vandenbranden (Bel)/Gianluca Pollefliet (Bel) | 243 | +34 |
| 9. | Clément Petit (Fra)/Michele Scartezzini (Ita) | 69 | +37 |
| 10. | Milan Van Den Haute (Bel)/Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) | 82 | +38 |
Van den Bossche and Thomas win the Six Days after an ultimate move in the end
Thomas and Van den Bossche win!
The top favorites Ghys and De Vylder are relieved and see their winning streak stopped: Benjamin Thomas and Fabio Van den Bossche win this Six Days. They played it tactically perfectly and then hit at the right time.
Winning round!
Still a surprise: Benjamin Thomas and Fabio Van den Bossche succeed in their aim. They take the round and go up and over it. They play this out great!
10 more laps
Benjamin Thomas and Fabio Van den Bossche have a half track lap. That’s not enough. But things do look rosy.
The razor-sharp counter!
Jules Hesters and Aaron Gate are not far away, but the leaders have to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.
They run into a counter from Benjamin Thomas. The Frenchman is on and about everyone. On the way to final victory?
Jules Hesters has kept aloof for a while, but he has his moment. Another 26 laps and ‘t Kuipke shouts ahead.
Robbe Ghys does not want to take any risks. Attack is the best defense: he attacks and lures the others out of their room.
50 more laps
The moment of truth arrives. Will we get a final twist?
Jules Hesters doubles down once again and challenges the others again. His grimace reveals that the best is almost gone.
Robbe Ghys and Lindsay De Vylder seem out of reach on points. The rivals therefore still have to pull off a splitting attack.
The Germans gasp. Are we going to an apotheosis with 3 couples?
This must be Jules Hesters’ 7th or 8th attack. We’ve lost count.
Renaat Schotte
We will know the winner in about fifteen minutes. For the time being, we are still running in circles as we started this team race. Lindsay De Vylder gives – just like the whole week – an excellent impression.
The joust continues. Jules Hesters gives it his all. He has to keep this up for another 12 minutes + 50 laps.
Doublette by Van den Bossche and Thomas
Another 20 minutes and the field is completely fragmented. Fabio Van den Bossche smells blood with his French TGV and goes for a double. It’s red alert!
The top couples put each other to the test. They are testing the competition.
Renaat Schotte
Val
While the 4 leaders attack each other (without position shifts), we see an ugly crash during a relay. Milan Van den Haute and his partner Sebastian Mora go wrong.
Final team race
Anyone who wants to win this Six Days must stand up now. Jules Hesters is wide awake and immediately records a winning round. Of course it will rain attacks in the next 50 minutes, but it is still a signal from the man from Ghent.
De Vylder and Ghys take the track lap
Track lap
Lindsay De Vylder and Robbe Ghys are the strongest duo over 166 meters. They win the track round and extend their points lead.
It’s a shame for Jules Hesters and Aaron Gate: they just miss the bonus round. You can no longer earn that in the pegged rate.
We will start the final madison at 5.30 pm.
Vromant: “Year after year I receive more encouragement”
Ghys and De Vylder win the team elimination
Team dropout
The top couples provide the spectacle. Jules Hesters does not save the final sprint of the team elimination, Fabio Van den Bossche and Lindsay De Vylder cross swords.
They send their teammates onto the track 2 laps before the end and Robbe Ghys crows victory for Benjamin Thomas.
First points win
Before we start the final team race around 5:30 PM, many points can still be collected. Robbe Ghys and Lindsay De Vylder have already completed their first assignment in the points race.
They pass the 300 points mark and take the lead thanks to a winning round, but some competitors are also looking for another bonus.
LIVE on Sporza
Traditionally, the riders do not continue until the early hours on Sunday. With the first points race at 2.35 pm, the peloton gets the action going again in ‘t Kuipke. The final team race starts again at 5:30 PM.
With Sporza you don’t have to miss a single pedal step. At 2:15 PM we are already firing up our app and website with a live stream and text updates on this page. Radio 1 is also immediately on duty. You can also follow the denouement on VRT1 at 4.25 pm.
“Local hero” Hesters in the lead
Home driver Jules Hesters and Aaron Gate took over in Ghent on Saturday evening. The Belgian and New Zealand couple enter the final day as leaders.
With 264 points, Hesters and Gate have a big lead over first pursuers Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt. The Germans totaled 109 points in 5 days of fun on the slopes.
Two couples follow in a round: defending champions Lindsay De Vylder with Robbe Ghys (298 points) and the Belgian-French tandem Fabio Van Den Bossche – Benjamin Thomas (276 points). The rest is counted for the final victory.
