It was a week of mixed fortunes for the area's top cyclists as Olympian Rob Hayles went into the Gent six-day with high hopes of emulating Olympic teammate Bradley Wiggins' victory in 2003.

Considered as the adopted British six-day because of its closeness to home, it always enjoys a large partisan crowd who travel to Belgium to support our stars. Sadly for Hayles it was not meant to be as illness and injury forced him to be neutralised by the organisers on some evenings to protect his health.

A six-day is run over six evenings with the racing going on until three o'clock in the morning. This style of racing has been around since the late 1800s where riders literally raced for six days solid. In the early 1900s it was the sport of the gentry and made famous by Madison Square Gardens in New York where celebrities would gather to cheer on their favourite riders, anyone who was anyone would be seen at the 'New York Six'.

Hayles, partnered at Gent by Jimmi Madsen from Denmark finished in eighth place overall and will be hoping for better form at this week's Revolution meeting at the Manchester Velodrome where he will once again team up with Wiggins.

Stuart Bowers, pictured, of the Hargroves Cycles-Scott team finished a close second in the Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers Cyclo Cross at Canford Park Arena on Sunday. Bowers was only 30 seconds down on Ross Kite from Birmingham at the finish, but a full three minutes ahead of third place Phil Smith of GA Cycles.

The one-and-a-half mile flat fast course was obviously not to the liking of previous week's Wessex league winner Phillip Gough who came home four minutes down on the winner. Gough will take consolation in taking home the junior title to leave him well ahead in the overall standings.

Ron Allen of the Hargroves-Scott squad took the Youth race ahead of Hamble's Peter Dibben of the Chapel Tri team. Jon Dibben took an exciting under 12's race.

All in all the riders were extremely impressed with a course that many said would be worthy of a national series event. Maybe the Bournemouth club will aim to up the status of the event in 2005.

Final result of 6-days in Gent:

1 Robert Slippens/Danny Stam (Ned), 396 p., at 2 laps: 2 Iljo Keisse (Bel)/Andreas Beikirch (Ger), 335 p., at 4 laps: 3 Gerd Drich/Andreas Kappes (Ger), 240 p., 4 Bruno Risi/Alexander Aeschbach (Sui), 226 p., at 10 laps: 5 Marco Villa (Ita)/Franz Stocher (Aut), 143 p., at 14 laps: 6 Lars Teutenberg (Ger)/Luke Roberts (Aus), 241 p., at 15 laps: 7 Matth Pronk/Wouter van Mechelen (Bel), 324 p., at 30 laps: 8 Jimmi Madsen (Den)/Robert Hayles (GBR), 109 p.

Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers' Cyclo Cross

1 Ross Adams (Red Kite Cycles), 2 Stuart Bowers @ 30secs, 3 Phil Smith (GA Cycles) @ 3.32, 4 Phillip Gough (Portswood cycles) @ 4.00, 5 Jon Samways (GA Cycles) @ 4.23, 6 Andrew MacDonald (GA Cycles) @ 4.27

Youth

1 Ron Allen (Hargroves Cycles-Scott) 28.00mins, 2 Peter Dibben (Chapel Tri) @ 1.40, 3 Mike Gray (Dorset Rough Riders @ 2.10.

Under-12s

1 Jon Dibben (Chapel Tri), 2 Chris Keeble Smith, 3 Rob Yateman (Oxonian CC).