Belgium had never delivered a European champion in the points race. Kenny De Ketele, now national coach, had already been good for silver twice. His poulain and ex-couple race mate Robbe Ghys proved from the first sprints that he could at least match his master in Munich.
Ghys towered over it with world champion and defending champion Benjamin Thomas (who had won gold with the French pursuers more than an hour earlier).
The Belgian and the Frenchman circled each other on the small track in Munich for a whole points race. The short distance of the rounds meant that bonus rounds were thrown. Still, the sprints would make the difference.
Just before the decisive final sprint, Ghys was only 2 points behind Thomas. If he finished ahead of him and fell in the point, the European title would be his. He resisted like a devil in a holy water font, but Thomas could not be helped.
The end result: gold for Thomas, silver for Ghys and bronze for the Dutchman Hoppezak.
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Katrijn De Clercq was the Belgian representative in the scratch race, a race that was decided in a sprint, won by the Norwegian Anita Stenberg. De Clercq tried to cope with a late attack by Frenchwoman Labastugue, but when that failed, her match was more or less over. In the final sprint she was still able to place in 8th place.
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