Preview: Le Samyn 2024 – Who will beat Arnaud de Ley?

We don't have to wait long after the opening weekend. It's already Tuesday time for Le Samyn. A very nice race, the racing is always attractive and aggressive. Who are your favorites this year? Cycling Looking forward!

date

The last ten winners Lou Samin
2023: Milan stinks
2022: Matteo Trentin
2021: Tim Merlier
2020: Hugo Hofstetter
2019: Florian Senechal
2018: Nikki Terpstra
2017: Guillaume van Keersbulck
2016: Nikki Terpstra
2015: Chris Bookmans
2014: Maxime Phantom

Latest edition

Menten dislocated his shoulder due to this victory gesture – Photo: Cor Vos

Le Samin Result 2023
1. Milan Menten (Lotto Destiny)
2. Hugo Hofstetter (Archea samsic) in bt
3. Edward Theunis (Trek-Segafredo) in st
4. Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) in st
5. Luca Mozzato (Arkia Samsic) in BT

Effect

Le Samyn's route is not much different from previous years. The beginning again in Quaregnon, a town in the department of Hainaut. By the way, since 2015 the Walloon Race has been launched here. The total distance from Le Samin is 202 kilometres, seven kilometers less than last year. This is the only difference.

After the start, riders head west towards Hotrage, followed by a northward loop through Otrebe and Leuze, among other places. Just like last year, the peloton remains entirely on Walloon territory. Other than that, there's not much to say about the lead-up to the match. There may be some wind, but usually nothing happens at this point.

SAMIN 2024 course

After riders pass the 100 mark, they reach the first local circuit. They will complete this a total of four times. The first hurdle in that round is Rue du Vert-Pignon. The 100-meter gravel section is a warm-up. Then follow Côte de la Roquettethe De Wehre Street And the Côte de Nonites. These three obstacles are also very short.

Finally, riders move onto the cobblestones Rue de Belle Vue. In the middle zone, winds have freedom of action. On the cobblestone strip itself, the road is very narrow and the cobblestones, as usual, are in poor condition. In short: an ideal place to set up the course to your liking. Moreover, this bar is located just 1 km from the finish. The finish in the Dour ramps up a bit, which means that as a runner you can also explode in the final metres.

Tuesday 27 February: Kwarijon – Dor (202 km)
Begins: 12.35 pm
He finishes: Between 5:20 pm and 5:40 pm

Favorite

Every year Le Samyn presents a great competition for viewers. There is always a race and an attack, but in the end the fast man almost always wins. In our preview, we look at strong riders who can also be fast in the final kilometre.

who else? Arnaud de LeeThen it deserves the most stars. Lotto Dstny's golden boy has not started the season well, but should take his first win of the season at Le Samyn. It is a course designed specifically for him. With the title holder Milan stinksbut also strong riders like Pascal Einkhorn and Alec Segaart alongside him, and De Lie is also well surrounded.

De Lie during the press conference preceding the opening weekend – Photo: Cor Vos

Alpecin-Deceuninck also comes to Wallonia with several contenders. The big name is Søren Krage AndersenWho actually finished sixth in Le Samin. The Great Dane has the disadvantage that he may have to arrive alone, which is of course counterintuitive. They still have these things in Alpecin-Deceuninck Timo KilicBack hand, which is dangerously fast after a tough race. In other words, Kraj Andersen and Kilic can play at a tactical level.

They can do that in Uno-X Mobility as well. There they even sit with two very fast children, Rasmus Teller And Søren Wernskjöld. The Norwegians can handle a tough game, but they are also quick to finish the match. A perfect combination for Le Samyn. Wærenskjold also managed to win the AlUla Tour this season, which will give him confidence. Tiller hasn't been able to do that yet, but he can bring additional experience with him. He came in second place at Le Samin in 2021.

Wehrenskiöld on the AlUla tour – Photo: Cor Vos

Hugo HofstetterHe is the second previous winner, along with Minten, to play on Tuesday. Hofstetter has secured a move to Israel-Premier Tech and has been introduced for this match. He won in 2020, came second in 2022 and 2023, and came fifth in 2021. An impressive list. He has already ridden a top-five finish in the Tour de la Provence this season, but the Frenchman will still be aiming for more at Le Samyn.

The UAE has several spearheads on Tuesday. It is difficult to name a leader, because both Alvaro José Hodge and Swordbacks They are certainly not hopeless. We see the same scenario in DSM-firmenich PostNL, where… Niels EckhoffCasper van Ouden and John Degenkolb also brought three strong knights. We give the most chances to Oliveira and Ekov.

In 2020, Hofstetter won Le Samyn – Photo: Cor Vos

Our last two stars go to Van Gestel driesAnd Lawrence Pethy. Van Gestel is already an experienced rider and has performed well at Le Samyn in the past. Together with teammate Anthony Turges, he could form a dangerous duo. Pithie is a very young rider, but very talented. It has been an excellent start to the season and he looks set to challenge for top honors in this type of racing.

Finally, we mention a whole group of strangers. This also includes Amaury Capiot, Luca Mozzato, Jenthe Biermans, David Dekker (all Arkéa-B&B), Vito Braet, Madis Mikhels, Laurenz Rex (all Intermarché-Wanty), Yentl Vandevelde (Flanders-Baloise), Sasha Weemaes, Loïc Vliegen. (both Bingoal WB), Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5), Jelle Johannink (TDT-Unibet) and Timothy Dupont (Tarteletto-Isorex) are not without a chance.

Favorites according to WielerFlits
****Arnaud de Lee
*** Soren Wernskjöld, Hugo Hofstetter
** Milan Menten, Rasmus Teller, Laurence Pethe
* Niels Eichhoff, Timo Kilic, Dries van Gestel, Sjoerd Bax

Site organization
List of participants (WielerFlits)
List of participants (ProCyclingStats)

Weather and TV

The weather will be much better on Tuesday than on the opening weekend. There will almost certainly be no rain, and the winds have calmed somewhat. 3 Beaufort is still expected, which is certainly not a lot. Temperatures will be around 9 degrees Celsius.

Fortunately, Le Samyn can be followed live on television. Sporza, on VRT1, will broadcast the race. Eurosport 1 will also do the same. Finally, you can also follow online via the Eurosport.nl and Discovery+ channels. To find out the exact hours you can visit our TV guide Cycling on TV.