Iljo Keisse is again one of the main attracttions in the Gentse Kuipke. The Belgian will ride the Six-Days of Ghent with Mark Cavendish, his British teammate at Omega Pharma-Quick Step. "We will definitely go for the win but the race is not our main goal. After all we are road riders."
Iljo Keisse expects to ride with a good Cavendish. "I think he will be in better shape than he has been in other editions. It is his own choice that he wants to ride here and I know what he has done to prepare for the race. He wants to take revenge for what has happened in the past."
"This week we could train together for a couple of days to work on the automatisms but Cavendish is very experienced on the track," Keisse told Sporza ahead of his 10th participation in the race in Ghent.
"I don't expect many problems. We just have to get used to the track here in Ghent. It is different than it is anwhere else and the atmosphere in De Kuipke is unique."
At the end of the road season, Keisse was involved in a nast crash. In itself, it was not a bad thing he says.
"Because of that I am well recovered after a heavy road season. I have a good feeling in training so we will see how it goes. It is normal to have doubts before a start in Ghent."
The six-day circuit is in difficulty: Grenoble were shorter than six days and the same will be the case in Zürich.
"Let's hope that things will be different with Cavendish but it is true that the sport needs a revival. I think it will have to come from Great Britain."
Keisse himself feels less like a track rider.
"For me, this is not longer the most important race of the year which was the case in past years. Now we have other goals but that doesn't mean that we will take it easy. We are going to give everything to win but the spring classics are more important."
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