British riders Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright will take part in the Ghent Six, a famous track race held at the velodrome 't Kuipke in the Belgian city.

The duo will tackle the 166.67m velodrome's steep wood banks from Tuesday through Sunday. The event is close to selling out, with fans eager to return to the track center for late-night racing and beer and fries after two years of COVID-19 regulations.

Two-time winner Bradley Wiggins will fire the pistol to open the event on Tuesday. His 17-year-old son Ben will take part in the U23 AVS Cup. Wiggins was born in Ghent after his Australian father ran the circuit for six days. In a recent Sporza documentary about the Ghent Six, Wiggins says he would like his ashes to be spread on this velodrome.

Other well-known Ghent Six winners will also be there, including Eddy Merckx, Roger de Vleminck, Jorian Dufour, Etienne de Vilde, and Moreno de Pauw.

Hayter won the Tour de Pollogne this season and is also on track to win the omnium and team pursuit world titles in 2022.

The two will face off against local hero Iljo Keisse, a 39-year-old who will be taking on his 18th and final Ghent Six on his way to retirement. The Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl veteran will be partnered by Lot Soudal's Yasper de Buist, who has won the event seven times and last year raced with Mark Cavendish (who crashed heavily on the last day, breaking two ribs).

"After a difficult season, I am really ready," Casey told Het Nieuwsblad (open in new tab). 'For me it's more about the goodbye. The last lap hurts.

"Winning is definitely not what I envision for myself," he added.

"I start with modest ambitions. Everyone dreams of a farewell like Kenny de Ketele (who won last year and retired), but there is no comparison. He is a track specialist and I am not anymore.

Keisse had hoped to race with Quick Step teammate Mikhail Morkov, who won in Ghent seven years ago, but decided to take an off-season break at the recommendation of his coach. 2021 partner Cavendish also avoided racing again, so Keisse has formed the unusual partnership of Quick Step and Lotto.

"I don't think it's ever happened before," he said. 'On the sporting side, I'm very happy with him. So far, he has often hurt my leg. Hopefully, now we can hurt the competition together."

In addition to the Hayter-Wright and Caisse de Baist partnership, the Quickstep-Alpecin pairing of Stein Stelz and Sylvain Dillier, German pair Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt, 2019 and 2021 winners Rob Gies and Lindsay de Vilder, and Fabio van den Bossche and Yoeli Havik, among other notable riders.

The women's lineup stars Belgian stars Lotte Kopecky (current Elimination Race World and European Champion) and Shari Bothuit.

Keisse rated the British duo as the strongest men on paper, but questioned their experience on a unique course like t Kuipke.

"If you look at their individual qualities, the strongest pair is Hayter and Wright. But whether that will work in Ghent ......"

"The two are not the only ones who have been in Ghent.

"We are particularly interested in Van den Bosch and Havik. Joeri just became world champion in the points race and Fabio is getting better every year. They are a small, compact team and will be very dangerous customers. The same goes for Guise and de Vilder."