Le Samyn 2022 [LAST 20 KM]

March 1, 2022

Le Samyn 2022 – Quaregnon – Dour : 209 km

Falling just after ‘Opening Weekend’, Le Samyn keeps Classics fever alive with yet another action-packed day of racing over some of Belgium’s cruelest sectors of cobblestones. The race is referred to as ‘The Little Paris-Roubaix’ by the French media and marks the start of the Classics season in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. Le Samyn is characterised by its gnarly four sectors of cobblestones and two leg-breaking climbs, the Côte de la Roquette and the Côte des Nonnettes – both of which are covered in bone-rattling stones. As well as a gruelling route that features cobbled sectors and tough climbs, riders often face pouring rain, crosswinds and freezing temperatures whenever they line up for this race. A combination of the two may not be welcomed so gleefully by the riders, but for us fans watching on from home it’s these conditions, mixed with the savage route, that make this race so entertaining to watch.

Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) won GP Le Samyn after he outsprinted the break on the uphill finale in Dour. The Italian’s aggression helped to form the winning move at the beginning of the final lap of the finishing circuit, and he had the strength to fend off Hugo Hofstetter (Arkea-Samsic) and Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix) in the sprint.

As ever, the GP Le Samyn was a race of attrition, with a sizeable peloton eventually being whittled down to its bare bones by the ebb and flow of attack and counter-attack on the cobbled sectors that punctuated the finishing circuit, and Trentin was present at every critical juncture.

Together with the prominent Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal), Trentin was wise to the danger when Oliver Naesen (AG2R Citroën) accelerated on the penultimate lap with 40km remaining, and he was wise to every move that threatened to drift off the front from that moment onwards.

After a group of 20 or so riders forged clear on that penultimate lap, Trentin helped to force to decisive move shortly after the bell, when he launched an acceleration that only Campenaerts, Hofstetter, De Bondt, Stan Dewulf (AG2R Citroën), Josef Cerny (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), Bert Van Lerberghe (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), Loic Vliegen (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Hugo Hofstetter (Arkéa-Samsic), and Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) could follow.

“The race was very hard and with the team we decided to try to form a break with a small group, because we knew Jakobsen is one of the best sprinters in the world,” Trentin explained afterwards. “The group had 25 riders and then kept getting smaller. In the end, I think was maybe eight or nine riders, and everybody worked.”

Some worked more than others. Trentin, mindful that he had outflanked both Jakobsen and Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix), realised that he was, together with Hofstetter, the fastest finisher in the front group by reputation, and he was generous in his efforts to ensure the move stayed away.

Trentin’s forcing on the cobbles of the Côte de la Roquette with 14km remaining served a treble purpose. As well as extending the break’s advantage to 35 seconds and ridding the group of Cerny, it also served to discourage any attacks on the cobbles.

Van Gestel looked to test Trentin’s resolve on the smooth road that followed, attacking with 8.5km to go, but the Italian immediately shut him down and then proceeded to stretch out the front group on the cobbled Côte des Nonettes that followed.

Campenaerts and Vliegen were the next riders to try their luck, but once more Trentin brought order to the group and he resumed his by-now habitual position on the front as they tackled the cobbles at Belle Vue with 3km remaining.

The leaders still had 25 seconds in hand as they came off the cobbles, and Campenaerts launched one, final effort shortly afterwards, but it proved impossible to break clear. Attacks from Dewulf and De Bondt were similarly repelled, but the break’s momentum stalled notably as they reached the final kilometre and began the final drag to the line.

Trentin had advertised his strength so obviously that his companions were now reluctant to tow him to the line, and the Italian found himself in the unenviable position of leading the escapees into the final bend, while the peloton was now suddenly thundering back into view.

In the closing 300 metres, Trentin resisted the temptation to open his sprint from distance, preferring to allow Van Gestel to launch his effort. After diving for the Belgian’s wheel, Trentin eventually hit top speed within sight of the line. Hofstetter, winner of this race in 2020, closed rapidly in the final metres, but Trentin had enough to hold on for victory, while Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X) led the peloton home at 4 seconds.

“I knew Hofstetter had already won here and Van Lerberghe had a free ride because Jakobsen was behind, but I did my sprint in an intelligent way I think,’ said Trentin. “I waited for somebody else to launch the sprint. I waited for Van Gestel and then after that, it was a good battle with Hofstetter.”

How it unfolded
The race was animated in its opening phase by Sam Welsford (DSM), Nickolas Zukowsky (Human Powered Health), Jente Boons (BEAT Cycling), Kasper Saver (Minerva Cycling), Sander Lemmens (Tarteletto-Isorex) and Samuel Leroux (Go Sport-Roubaix), who escaped inside the opening 10km and established a lead in excess of 4 minutes before the peloton, and Uno-X in particular, began to claw back their advantage.

Rune Herregodts (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and Stijn Daemen launched a game attempt to bridge across to the escapees shortly after the midway point, while the rising tension in the peloton was illustrated by the crash that saw Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Soudal) among the fallers.

The remnants of the break was eventually brought back on the penultimate lap of the finishing circuit, where AG2R, through Dewulf and Naesen, and Lotto Soudal were prominent in trying to force a selection.

Naesen’s acceleration with 40km to go did just that, though a mechanical problem would force him out of the front group. 2021 winner Tim Merlier was present in front at this juncture, but the flurry of attacks would eventually whittle the head of the race down still further. With each new selection, Trentin’s strength would become ever more apparent, and when he accelerated inside the final lap, he created the winning move.

The peloton never gave up the chase, however, and Merlier himself made a spirited fightback after he acrobatically evaded a crash in the final 10km, but there was enough cohesion among the leaders to ensure they stayed clear. On the drag to the line in Dour, Trentin provided a finish to match his show of strength across the final hour of racing.

Results :
1 Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 4:49:29
2 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
3 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
4 Stan Dewulf (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
5 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
6 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal
7 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) TotalEnergies
8 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
9 Rasmus Tiller (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 0:00:04
10 Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto Soudal
11 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
12 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
13 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Arkea-Samsic
14 Luca Mozzato (Ita) B&B Hotels-KTM
15 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
16 Damien Touze (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
17 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel-Premier Tech
18 Pierre Barbier (Fra) B&B Hotels-KTM
19 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
20 Daan Hoole (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
21 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
22 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
23 Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
24 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
25 Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Human Powered Health
26 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
27 Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
28 Rick Pluimers (Ned) Jumbo-Visma Development Team
29 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
30 Marco Haller (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
31 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
32 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Cofidis
33 André Carvalho (Por) Cofidis
34 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team DSM
35 Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
36 Jarno Mobach (Ned) Leopard Pro Cycling
37 Antoine Raugel (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
38 Fabio Van Den Bossche (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
39 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:13
40 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:14
41 Jonas Koch (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:16
42 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team 0:00:23
43 Donavan Grondin (Fra) Arkea-Samsic 0:00:27
44 Niki Terpstra (Ned) TotalEnergies
45 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
46 Paul Penhoet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ Continental
47 Markus Pajur (Est) Arkea-Samsic
48 Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Arkea-Samsic
49 Stijn Steels (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 0:00:30
50 Laurence Pithie (NZl) Groupama-FDJ Continental 0:00:43
51 Erik Nordsaeter Resell (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
52 Sander De Pestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:00:46
53 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
54 Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
55 Anders Skaarseth (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 0:00:48
56 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:00:53
57 Laurenz Rex (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
58 Loe van Belle (Ned) Jumbo-Visma Development Team 0:01:23
59 Quentin Jauregui (Fra) B&B Hotels-KTM
60 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
61 Alex Colman (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:01:33
62 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:58
63 Arne Marit (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:02:14
64 Marco Frigo (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy 0:02:19
65 Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
66 Josef Cerny (Cze) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 0:02:32
67 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) TotalEnergies 0:02:39
68 Samuel Watson (GBr) Groupama-FDJ Continental
69 Jannik Steimle (Ger) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
70 Arthur Kluckers (Lux) Leopard Pro Cycling
71 Pavel Bittner (Cze) Development Team DSM
72 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Meropole
73 Stan Van Tricht (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
74 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
75 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Cofidis
76 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
77 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
78 Casper van Uden (Ned) Development Team DSM 0:04:04
79 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:04:47
80 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB 0:05:31
81 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
82 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) Cofidis
83 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:06:14
84 Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:06:27
85 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
86 Pier Andre Cote (Can) Human Powered Health 0:06:47
87 August Jensen (Nor) Human Powered Health
88 Ethan Vernon (GBr) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
89 Florian Vermeersch (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:07:36
90 Thibau Verhofstadt (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:08:05
91 Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
92 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy
93 Senne Leysen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
94 William Levy (Den) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
95 Colin Joyce (USA) Human Powered Health
96 Felix Groß (Ger) Uae Team Emirates
97 Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
98 Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
99 Karl Patrick Lauk (Est) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
100 Sam Welsford (Aus) Team DSM
101 Samuel Leroux (Fra) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Meropole
102 Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
103 Adam De Vos (Can) Human Powered Health
104 Lars Boven (Ned) Jumbo-Visma Development Team
105 Simon Dehairs (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix Development Team 0:08:55
106 Thimo Willems (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
107 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel-Premier Tech
108 Maxime De Poorter (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
109 Kasper Saver (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
110 Torsten Demeyere (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
111 Robbe Ghys (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
112 Milan Menten (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB 0:08:59
113 Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:14:39
114 Gilles Borra (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
115 Joseph Pidcock (GBr) Groupama-FDJ Continental 0:15:40
141 Gil D´Heygere (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
DNF Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
DNF Marius Mayrhofer (Ger) Team DSM
DNF Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis
DNF Eddy Fine (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Tim Naberman (Ned) Team DSM
DNF Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Development Team DSM
DNF Sander Lemmens (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
DNF Raphael Parisella (Can) B&B Hotels-KTM
DNF Johannes Hodapp (Ger) Leopard Pro Cycling
DNF Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Leopard Pro Cycling
DNF Louis Coqueret (Fra) Leopard Pro Cycling
DNF Justin Wolf (Ger) Leopard Pro Cycling
DNF Thomas Joseph (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
DNF Stefano Museeuw (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
DNF Jensen Plowright (Aus) Groupama-FDJ Continental
DNF Kobe Vanoverschelde (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
DNF Enzo Paleni (Fra) Groupama-FDJ Continental
DNF Brent Van De Kerkhove (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
DNF Thomas Boudat (Fra) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Meropole
DNF Tom Mainguenaud (Fra) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Meropole
DNF Valentin Tabellion (Fra) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Meropole
DNF Norman Vahtra (Est) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Meropole
DNF Michel Heßmann (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
DNF Owen Geleijn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma Development Team
DNF Kenneth Caethoven (Bel) Minerva Cycling Team
DNF Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
DNF Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Marc Brustenga Masague (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels-KTM
DNF Julien Morice (Fra) B&B Hotels-KTM
DNF Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Pol) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
DNF Wessel Krul (Ned) Human Powered Health
DNF Christopher Lawless (GBr) TotalEnergies
DNF Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) TotalEnergies
DNF Colin Heiderscheid (Lux) Leopard Pro Cycling
DNF Juraj Sagan (Svk) TotalEnergies
DNF Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
DNF Jente Boons (Bel) Beat Cycling
DNF Jordy Bouts (Bel) Beat Cycling
DNF Sven Burger (Ned) Beat Cycling
DNF Stijn Daemen (Ned) Beat Cycling
DNF Matthijs Büchli (Ned) Beat Cycling
DNF Vincent Hoppezak (Ned) Beat Cycling
DNF Bram Dissel (Ned) Beat Cycling
DNF Rait Ärm (Est) Groupama-FDJ Continental
DNS Marius Wold (Nor) Tarteletto-Isorex