Meeus wins Le Samyn as Van Aert thwarted by late puncture

Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) delivered a powerful sprint to claim an emphatic victory at Le Samyn after escapee Per Strand Hagenes (Visma | Lease a Bike) was cruelly caught within sight of the finish line in Dour.

The result was never in doubt once Meeus hit the front in the finishing straight, and he came home well clear of Laurenz Rex (Soudal Quick-Step) and Hugo Hofstetter (NSN).

Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) endured frustration on his seasonal debut when he was eliminated from contention by a puncture with 10km remaining. The Belgian had played a notable role to that point in trying to hinder the pursuit of his teammate Hagenes, who had carried a lead of 20 seconds into the final lap and had defended that advantage as he approached the final two sectors of cobblestones.

Hagenes’ buffer finally began to contract on the Rue Bellevue with a shade over 2km to go, and a late counter-attack from Hugo Page (Cofidis) brought the reduced peloton still closer. Although Hagenes led into the finishing straight, he knew by then that his was a doomed effort.

Le Samyn has often been fought out in miserable conditions over the years, but the unseasonably bright and warm day in Wallonia did nothing to dampen the fierceness of the contest.

The early break of Baptiste Vadic (TotalEnergies), Stijn Appel (Beat), Kévin Avoine (Van Rysel Roubaix), Lucas Bénéteau (St Michel) and Bogdan Zabelinskiy (Aarco) led the race onto the four laps of the 28km finishing circuit around Dour, with the lead gradually whittled down as the afternoon drew on.

The race ignited on the penultimate lap, when a dozen riders bridged across to the five leaders, including the Visma duo of Per Strand Hagenes and Pietro Mattio, and Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

That group collaborated surprisingly smoothly. and it briefly looked as though it would go the distance, but Soudal Quick-Step and Alpecin-Premier Tech establish a loose coalition to bring the bunch back to within touching distance as they tackled the cobbles of Bellevue for the penultimate time.

Hagenes seized his opportunity to attack on the cobbles, and he took the bell with a lead of 15-seconds over the peloton, while his Visma teammates marked the flurry of counterattacks behind.

The Norwegian had 23 seconds in hand by the time he hit the Côte de la Roquette with 14km to go, where teammate Wout van Aert was prominent in attempting to disrupt the chase. At that point, Visma looked well placed to claim the victory, but Le Samyn has a habit of producing late twists.

“It’s really great to win here,” Meeus said after his sprint victory. “Omloop, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Le Samyn were a big goal for me. There was probably a bit more possible last weekend, but I’m happy to win one of those three races.”

It wasn't as straightforward as it looked though according to the 27-year-old Belgian. “I suffered a lot out there,” he said. “It was ridden really hard. In the finale, I was pretty much on the limit, but fortunately, I still had a good sprint in my legs.”