A year ago, Ahoy went crazy during the Cycling Six Days Rotterdam when the Brabander recorded a top time of 9.674. Richardson raced to 9.659 seconds on Friday. “I was already afraid of it,” said Lavreysen. “In recent days he was already two-tenths faster than me. I was actually afraid that he would completely destroy my track record, but that wasn’t too bad. And I was close to it myself.”
Classification completely shaken up in blood-curdling Six Days Rotterdam: Havik and Leitão regain lead
Lavreysen was 0.033 slower than his British arch-rival, but is keen to regain control this Saturday in the Rotterdam Sportpaleis. “Certainly, certainly! I’m disappointed that my record is gone, but I’m glad that I’m not that far away,” said ‘Hurricane Harrie’, who plunged his opponent into deep mourning during the last World Championship track in Chile. Lavreysen was good for gold on the sprint numbers no fewer than four times.
“But I also want to show it here. This track is somewhat to his advantage,” the five-time Olympic champion refers to the fact that the track in Ahoy is 200 meters, as opposed to the ‘normal’ 250 meters during championships. “Matthew is 10 kilos lighter and he benefits from that, especially in the corners. There are so many G-forces released on the saddle that it is on the verge of breaking. But the other side is that I just have to ride harder. It all makes me sharper.”
Matthew Richardson takes over and deals another blow to Harrie Lavreysen and co
Richardson also proved to be the strongest in the sprint final, after which Lavreysen ended the evening positively with a win on the keirin. The difference between the two in the GPN/PROVATO Sprint Cup is only one point in favor of the Briton, 63 to 62. “It will be a great battle in the last two days. This is very different for me than last year. I sit in my room with excitement every day before I go to Ahoy, because Matthew and I are the best in the world and it is at the max every evening. That is unique during a six-day event. It’s great that people come to this six-day event in such large numbers. I am very proud of that.”
Six-day battle reaches boiling point
The fourth day started with the small coupe race. Things took off immediately. European champions Vincent Hoppezak and Yanne Dorenbos won when the lap board was back to zero. However, the first match of the evening did not produce any major differences. The big hunt was a prey for Fabio Van den Bossche and Lindsay De Vylder. The Flemish couple also took the sprint for the Golden Buzzer.
The world champions had an excellent day, collecting the most points of all couples. After passing the 200 points barrier, Van den Bossche-De Vylder, Havik-Leitão and Hoppezak-Dorenbos took a lap lead over Mora and Ghys. Havik and Leitão retained their yellow jersey by winning the pair elimination and finishing among the best three in both pair races.
‘Dancing to the rhythm’ is the key to success, according to five-time winner Niki Terpstra: ‘It’s like a busy highway’
With four couples within one round, Rotterdam Ahoy can prepare for a spectacular final weekend. “It’s very close together. And then we also have to save a little energy here and there, so that we can still sleep a little. If you are still sprinting at half past eleven, you cannot sleep until three o’clock at night,” Havik said after the fourth day.
INTERMEDIATE STANDINGS AFTER FOURTH DAY
Six-day elite
Yoeri Havik/Iúri Leitão (Ned/Por) 240 points
Fabio Van den Bossche/Lindsay De Vylder (Bel/Bel) 238
Vincent Hoppezak/ Yanne Dorenbos (Ned/Ned) 218
Sebastian Mora/Robbe Ghys (Spa/Bel), on one lap: 172
Philip Heijnen/Matias Malmberg (Ned/Den), on two rounds: 214
GPN/Provato Sprint Cup
Matthew Richardson (GBr) 63 points
Harrie Lavreysen (Ned) 62
Jeffrey Hoogland (Ned) 55
Daan Kool (Ned) 30
Marcus Hiley (GBr) 22
Loris Leneman (Ned) 20
Women’s Cup
Josie Knight (GBr) 84 points
Yuli van der Molen (Ned) 72
Lonneke Uneken (Ned) 57
Nienke Veenhoven (Ned) 50
Nina Kessler (Ned) 43
Lucy Nelson (GBr) 20