Having started the final day in second place overall, Kenny De Ketele and Gijs Van Hoecke (Deelen Verswaren) put in a strong effort yesterday evening to grab the overall victory in the Amsterdam Six Day.
The Belgian duo had been four points ahead but, crucially, one lap behind the Dutchmen Jens Mouris and Wim Stroetinga (Vlasman) starting the session. In the first madison Boretti duo Leif Lampater (Germany) and Raymond Kreder (Netherlands) were the only ones able to gain a lap; they had been fifth overall, two laps down starting the final day, and so this reduced their deficit to those ahead.
The second Madison was the crucial one and there five pairs of riders fought for the final overall win. The Dutchmen Nick Stöpler and Yoeri Havik (AA Drink) overcame their one lap deficit early on, as did De Ketele and Van Hoecke.
However the latter duo gained another lap near the end, thus sealing their overall victory.
“We had gathered enough points during the week, so we didn’t have to focus on the sprints and were able to go full-throttle,” a delighted De KeteIe stated afterwards. “Tactically, we did great.”
Van Hoecke was equally delighted, celebrating what was his first ever six day victory. “It's very nice to take my first win here, as last year’s event was my first ever six-day.”
They ended up with a total of 282 points, 37 more than Lampater and Kreder. Mouris and Stroetinga were on 255 points but one lap behind, while Stöpler and Havik ultimately slumped to three laps back for a final fifth place overall.
The Swiss rider Tristan Marguet and Marc Hester (Drukkerij Koopmans) rounded out the top six.
The latter established a record in the two lap time trial, winning that event for the sixth day in a row and also doing so in a time of 21.495 seconds, which was a new track record.
Meanwhile London Olympics bronze medallist Teun Mulder won the Keirin masters ahead of Hugo Haak and Matthijs Büchli.
Haak had his own success when he beat Büchli to take the sprint masters general classification.
Amsterdam six day, final overall standings:
1, Kenny De Ketele and Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Deelen Verswaren, 282 pts
2, Leif Lampater (Ger) and Raymond Kreder (Ned) Boretti, 245 pts
3, Jens Mouris and Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Vlasman, 255 pts, at 1 lap
4, Pim Ligthart (Ned) and Marcel Kalz (Ger) ICS - Visa, 226 pts, at 1 lap
5, Nick Stöpler and Yoeri Havik (Ned) AA Drink, 243 pts, at 3 laps
6, Tristan Marguet (Swi) and Marc Hester (Den) Drukkerij Koopmans, 194, at 7 laps
7, Barry Markus (Ned) and Robert Bartko (Ger) Bredenoord, 44 pts, at 8 laps
8, Jiri Hochmann and Vojtech Hacecky (Cze) WePublish Media, 135 pts, at 11 laps
9, Melvin Boskamp and Jesper Asselman (Ned) Metec, 134 pts, at 12 laps
10, Wesley Kreder (Ned) and Nolan Hoffmann (RSA) ZAES Sportswear, 114 pts, at 15 laps
11, Aaron Gate (NZl) and Luke Roberts (Aus) De Telegraaf, 92 pts, at 18 laps
12, Didier Caspers and Melvin van Zijl (Ned) Tacx, 33 pts, at 21 laps
13, Guy East and Daniel Holloway (USA) Island 200, 33 pts, at 27 laps
General classification Keirin Masters 2013:
1, Mulder Teun 13
2, Haak Hugo 18
3, Buchli Matthijs 18
4, Hoogland Jeffrey 24
5, Van 't Hoenderdaal Nils 26
6, Hommes Bart 27
General classification Sprint Masters 2013:
1, Haak Hugo 15
2, Buchli Matthijs 16
3, Hoogland Jeffrey 19
4, Van 't Hoenderdaal Nils 20
5, Mulder Teun 24
6, Hommes Bart 32
Watch a replay of the final day's racing here: