Where is Café De Karper?

Café De Karper is in Ghent, Flanders (Belgium).

CAFE

Café De Karper

Café De Karper is a traditional brown café on Gent's inner ring, a short ride from Het Kuipke where the Zesdaagse van Vlaanderen is raced. Owner Ronie Keisse has run it for decades, and cycling jerseys belonging to his son Iljo Keisse hang from the ceiling alongside photos of Iljo's five UCI wins. Ronie was himself a strong local racer with 65 criterium and Six Days wins of his own. Iljo, now a team manager at Soudal-Quick Step, rarely visits, but the family connection is why cyclists stop in.

Ronie Keisse has kept the bar himself for decades, living in the flat above it and working the evening shift while his daughter Drieka runs the daytime side. The walls carry the family's own racing history: Ronie's 65 wins in kermesses and Six Days races, none of them counted by the UCI, and his son Iljo's five official UCI victories, including a Giro d'Italia stage won as a domestique for Patrick Lefevere's teams. Iljo, once known as the Emperor of Het Kuipke and now a Soudal-Quick Step team manager, keeps his visits rare, an arrangement Ronie describes as call only if it matters. Riders who stop by are drinking in a working cyclist's family history, not a themed shrine.

From riders

Practical

Open Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 02:00; Saturday by appointment only, Sunday for special occasions (per the café's own site). It keeps the feel of an old-school brown café, games and sport on the TVs rather than a themed cycling bar.

Common questions

Why stop at Café De Karper on a bike ride?: Café De Karper is a traditional brown café on Gent's inner ring, a short ride from Het Kuipke where the Zesdaagse van Vlaanderen is raced. Owner Ronie Keisse has run it for decades, and cycling jerseys belonging to his son Iljo Keisse hang from the ceiling alongside photos of Iljo's five UCI wins. Ronie was himself a strong local racer with 65 criterium and Six Days wins of his own. Iljo, now a team manager at Soudal-Quick Step, rarely visits, but the family connection is why cyclists stop in.
Where is Café De Karper?: Café De Karper is in Ghent, Flanders (Belgium).
When is Café De Karper open?: Open Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 02:00; Saturday by appointment only, Sunday for special occasions (per the café's own site). It keeps the feel of an old-school brown café, games and sport on the TVs rather than a themed cycling bar.

Checked 26 July 2026

CafeFamily runPart of: Koers kaffees of the RondeOld schoolPro connectionVelodrome