Thursday, April 25, 2024

Tag: Famous Belgian Riders

Kenny De Ketele – “Now the young guys just push me out of the way!”

Third in London with Moreno De Pauw; winner in Gent again with De Pauw; encore in Rotterdam with De Pauw; the win in Bremen with Home Boy, Theo Reinhardt; second in Berlin with De Pauw and looking well on the way to the top of the podium here in Copenhagen with Michael Morkov – it can only be Topsport and Belgium’s Mr. Kenny De Ketele.

Ronie Keisse – “I watched what went wrong with a lot of the promising young riders – their parents”

If there’s a rider more closely associated with a city than Iljo Keisse is with Gent then I can’t think of it. Born and bred in the capital of East Flanders, raised on the boards of the Blaarmeersen velodrome, the Gentenaars love him and he loves them. Iljo's dad, Ronie Keisse owns the legendary Café de Karper, a favourite student haunt in Gent, just a five minute walk from the Kuipke and the only place to be on a November Sunday evening when the Six Day finishes, so we sat down with Ronie on the Monday morning after the Six to discuss the life and times of his boy, one of the very last real ‘vedettes’ – star Six Day men.

At Random

The Season is Underway!

Back in the heartland and my season is officially underway. It's great to be back racing and despite a disrupted winter the body is feeling surprisingly sprightly. I have defied the norm these past few months. From having much of the winter off the bike with an achilles injury, to starting the season (albeit a little later than originally planned) with testing figures that are higher than could have imagined six weeks previous.

Tony Gibb – From the Commentator’s Box; London Olympics Day Six

Well, the women's omnium is in full swing at the London Olympics Day Six. Laura Trott has won the flying lap, a great ride, I'm not entirely sure where she was for the points race, I think team GB put someone up in her place, maybe she was getting her hair done or something, all I know is she didn't show up!

Copenhagen Six Day 2011 – Day Five, The Final Sort-Out Begins

It's the last day of school today; the six day circus goes to ground until October when-God willing-we head south to Grenoble with its blue skies, snow capped mountains, Follies girls, great bread and French riders who smile, shake your hand and give you a 'ca va?' every time they see you-they may not be fast but they're nice guys. It's unlikely there will be any surprises tonight, Alex and Michael are well in charge; I hope that Jens and Marc hold on to second-they deserve it.

Wins in Gifford and the Peaks

It finally felt like spring had sprung on Saturday in beautiful East Lothian in the town of Gifford. The Ribble-Weldtite team headed north to race in Round One of the Scottish National Alba Men's Road Race Series, and as well as the sunshine the guys enjoyed the race - and the result. At the same time, the team sent a squad to the Peaks Two-Day event, with more remarkable performances.

Le Tour de France 2015 – Stages 16, 17, 18 and the Second Rest Day

Ca va, ca va! Friday, en route the Stage 19 start and it's been hectic. We arrived on Sunday afternoon but by the time we got to Valance, the Press Centre was closed - so it was 'Plan B,' go to the finish at Gap the next day and uplift them. Vital bits of plastic duly collected on Monday morning we headed off up the Col de Manse which is just behind Gap for Stage 16.

Mixing it with some Kermis Kings

Kermis Kings... Perhaps a combination of Mallorca, having a hectic time before getting out to Belgium, and a bit of illness and settling down in Belgium, but for the first few weeks certainly I have been feeling rather lethargic.