100th anniversary edition of Six Days of Ghent starts next Tuesday

The 81st edition of the Six Days of Ghent was presented in Ghent's town hall on Wednesday. It will take place next week, from Tuesday to Sunday, in 't Kuipke. The velodrome underwent a metamorphosis in celebration of the 100th birthday of the race.

The press conference at the Ghent city hall kicked off with an excerpt from the three-part series, 100 Years of the Six Days, which recently appeared on VRT. In it, former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins expresses what the race means to him.

"He will kick off our 81st edition," Impens said. "His son will be competing in the Future Six Days from next Tuesday. And we have invited a host of other celebrities and former winners to our birthday party." Eddy Merckx will kick off the GP Patrick Sercu, a one-hour team race that continues on Friday night. 

7-time winner Iljo Keisse will take part in his final Six Days this year. The 39- year old cyclist from Ghent will ride alongside his compatriot Jasper De Buyst. Female world champion Lotte Kopecky will also attend.

The Six Days of Ghent is one of the most renowned six-day track cycling races in the world. After six evenings of racing, the duo with the most laps and points wins the event.

(TOM)

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