The Dutch duo led into the final evening of the Amsterdam Six Days and placed third behind Belgian winners, Kenny De Ketele and Gijs Van Hoecke. After starting together in the 2010 Ghent Six-Day, they will pair for a third time at the Ahoy sporting arena in Rotterdam just after celebrating the New Year.

Stroetinga remembers the track fondly. In 2012, he won his first and only six-day to date with Dutch star Peter Schep. With Schep recently retired, he wants to repeat 2012 with Mouris.

Front of the race
"I expect to win one or more six-day races this season. Last year, I was always in the top three but without any wins. It's not really a good feeling because the winner is the most important. This year, I want to change that," continued Stroetinga.

"I want to return to get the win with my new team-mate after winning two years ago with Peter. We don't know the final starting list yet but I think De Ketele will be there with Van Hoecke. I can't say we'll be the favourites to win but we'll be at the front of the race, for sure."

Stroetinga is proud to be on Rotterdam's starting list. "The Ahoy centre is just really cool. It's so big. It's been there for many years," he said. "For a Dutch rider, it's the biggest Six Days there is."

Building towards Rotterdam
Since the Amsterdam festivities died down, Stroetinga and Mouris have gone their separate ways. The tall Dutchman travelled to Brisbane, Australia, to enjoy warm weather training conditions. Next road season, he starts his second year with Aussie first division team, Orica-GreenEDGE.

"It's good for me to be in Australia, where I have time to do heaps of training," Mouris added. "The Amsterdam Six Days was after a long road season, when it was hard to keep it going. Now, I'm fresh and trained. I'm ready to race."

Stroetinga continues to race. He trained on the Velodrome Amsterdam earlier this week and began the Ghent Six-Day on Tuesday. He pairs with hometown star, Iljo Keisse in team Renson-Omega Pharma-Quick Step.

A growing list
The Rotterdam Six Days list is growing as the days count down. On November 26 the organiser will announce all the cyclists, which already includes Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Amsterdam-Six duo, Jesper Asselman and Melvin Boskamp.