Preview Le Samyn 2024 | Arnaud De Lie absolute top favorite in race that always surprises

It may not be Omloop Het Nieuwsblad nor Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, but Le Samyn is now a phenomenon in the spring. Traditionally weeklong, traditionally a hell of a ride through Wallonia. IDLProcycling reflects ahead of what's to come on Tuesday.

Le Samyn is a race that has gained considerable stature in recent years. The race in French-speaking Belgium has a solid list of winners, especially in the last ten years. Just a few names that have won the race in the past decade: Matteo Trentin, Tim Merlier, Florian Sénéchal, Niki Terpstra (twice) and Hugo Hofstetter. Last year Milan Menten managed to win the race with a strong sprint, often the recipe to win this race.

2023 Milan Menten
2022 Matteo Trentin
2021 Tim Merlier
2020 Hugo Hofstetter
2019 Florian Sénéchal
2018 Niki Terpstra
2017 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
2016 Niki Terpstra
2015 Kris Boeckmans
2014Maxime Vantomme

With a length of more than two hundred kilometers, Le Samyn can rightfully call itself a semi-classic. The organization of the Walloon race has once again selected an interesting course for this year, which includes the necessary cobbled sections. The race starts in Quaregnon and finishes in Dour.

The finale of the race is finished on a local lap, which includes the Côte de la Roquette (four hundred meters at 3.2%) and the Côte des Nonettes (three hundred meters at 3.6%) as important sharpshooters. Just before the riders reach the finish line, they still have to negotiate the cobblestones of Rue de Belle Vue. There it will be possible to strike the last differences before finishing slightly uphill.

Local circuit (three times):
102.7 km: Rue de Vert Pignon
109.6 km: Côte de la Roquette
110.6 km: Rue de Wihéries
115.6 km: Côte des Nonettes
121.0 km: Rue de Belle Vue

Weather
We've seen riders turn blue before, but Tuesday looks to be pretty good weather. At the start in Quaregnon, five degrees, sunshine and little wind from the northeast is forecast. At least it will stay dry, with the meet still around six degrees and wind force 2 from the north. 

Times
Start: 12:15 p.m.
Finish: approximately 5:30 p.m.

Le Samyn is traditionally a classic for the men of the second row, with all due respect. Many men broke through here, or provided the turnaround in their level of form here. Milan Menten was a perfect example just last year. The Belgian of Lotto-Dstny surprisingly won the uphill sprint and has never been overlooked since. The defending champion is there with No. 1, but does not appear to be the leader with the Belgians. Arnaud De Lie is in the race and after his excellent Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, he is top favorite. Pascal Eenkhoorn is one for the breakaway.

Big opponent is Alpecin-Deceuninck, which is heading to Le Samyn with Søren Kragh Andersen. What can the Dane do, after acting somewhat anonymously in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne over the Opening Weekend due to a knee injury over the winter? With Timo Kielich, they also have a fast man on board. dsm-firmenich PostNL is an interesting customer with Nils Eekhoff, who finished fifth in Kuurne. John Degenkolb is a Paris-Roubaix man too, with Casper van Uden also on board, should it turn into a sprint.

UAE-Team Emirates is also there on Tuesday, with António Morgado top talent as an interesting name. Arkéa-B&B Hotels has several fast men with Luca Mozzato, David Dekker, Jenthe Biermans and Amaury Capiot. At Intermarché-Wanty, Madis Mihkels is a talent to keep an eye on, although he did crash at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Laurenz Rex (sixth in Omloop) and Vito Braet also showed their good legs on behalf of that team last weekend. Uno-X might be one of the stronger blocks in the bunch. Søren Wærenskjold and Rasmus Tiller, those are not to be sneezed at. 

That's not all, as Dries Van Gestel, Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), Hugo Hofstetter, Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel-Premier Tech) and Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) are still on the list, whatever the scenario. TDT-Unibet will also be there, which will undoubtedly mean full-on attacks. 

Top favorites:Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) and Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ)
Outsiders: Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X), Amaury Capiot (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) and Nils Eekhoff (dsm-firmenich PostNL)
Long shots: Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), Tom Van Asbroeck, Hugo Hofstetter (Israel-Premier Tech), Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X), Antonio Morgado (UAE-Team Emirates), Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny), John Degenkolb (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty)

Le Samyn can be watched on two main channels on Tuesday. Sporza will be there from 1:30 p.m. - with the women first - via VRT 1 and Eurosport will broadcast live from the same time via Eurosport 1 and Eurosport.com.