Danes Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen got the Six-Days of Rotterdam off to a perfect start as they took the lead on the opening day. However, the battle is very close as seven laps are on the same lap.

The opening days of the 33rd Six Days of Rotterdam indicated that a big battle is in store for the rest of the race in the Ahoy Halle. After the gruelling first evening, six pairs are on the same lap. Danes Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen have taken the lead with a points tally of 54 points. Iljo Keissen and Niki Terpstra are second with 49 points.

Reigning champions Keisse and Terpstra started in the way they ended last year's race: by winning. They began their title defence with a well-deserved victory in the team elimination.

Then it was time for the Danish Dynamite. Mørkøv and Rasmussen did an impressive flying lap. With an average speed of nearly 70kph and a time of 10:383, they were close to the track record but missed it by less than one-tenth of a second. However, they still scored the maximal number of points.

Mørkøv and Rasmussen also turned out to the strongest in the madison. The peloton had an exciting battle on the track and after 35 minutes and the final ten laps, seven pairs were still on the same lap. The Danish pair managed to take the win in the final sprint.

The evening ended with two exciting points races. The pairs were split and rode individually. Jasper de Buyst and Jesper Asselman gathered the most points and gained important points for the overall standings.

Between all the action on the track, the new Roompot team was presented. The riders from Michael Zijlaard's team then headed onto the track for an elmination. The packed Ahoy Halle saw Andre Looij take his first ever win in Roompot colours. Looij who is riding with Ivar Slik in the real Six-Day, took the win by overcoming a typical Johnny Hoogerland attack.

The second Roompot victory was taken by Michel Kreder. The Dutchman and Keisse won the derny race and so they share the lead in the Houcon Derny Cup with their partners Raymond Kreder and Terpstra.

Finally, the Dutch sprinters took the the lead in the GPN / Provato Sprint Cup. Hugo Haak, Jeffrey Highland and Camiel Lok gathered a lot more points than their Greek opponents: 16 versus 11.

Standings:

1.  Michael Mørkøv/Alex Rasmussen 54 pts
2.  Iljo Keisse/Niki Terpstra 48 pts
3.  Jasper De Buyst/Kenny De Ketele 46 pts
4.  David Muntaner/Albert Torres 26 pts
5.  Wim Stroetinga/Yoeri Havik 20 pts
6.  Michel Kreder/Raymond Kreder 12 pts
7.  Leif Lampater/Nico Hesslich 11 pts
8.  Thomas Boudat/Vivien Brisse 18 pts +1 lap
9.  Andreas Müller/Andreas Graf 0 pts +1 lap
10. André Looij/Ivar Slik 0 pts +1 lap