Démare sprints to Samyn victory

Arnaud Démare (FDJ-BigMat) gave a further demonstration of his burgeoning talent with an assured sprint victory at GP Le Samyn. The world under 23 champion saw off the challenge of Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil – DCM) and Adrien Petit (Cofidis) in Dour to claim his second win as a professional.

Timing was of the essence on the long, uphill finishing straight, and Démare showed a knowledge of his craft beyond his tender years to pitch his effort perfectly and overhaul Boeckmans inside the final 50 metres.

After controlling the peloton for much of the day and hunting down the breaks on the final lap of the finishing circuit, FDJ-BigMat’s sprint train had Démare perfectly placed on the wheels of Mikael Delage and Yauheni Hutarovich with 400 metres to go.

It was at this point that Boeckmans attempted to tear up the script, as he ripped clear along the barriers on the right hand side of the road. The plucky Belgian initially opened a sizeable gap, and with no discernible reaction behind, it briefly seemed as though he had enough in hand to hold on for the win.

Démare was simply biding his time, however, and he opened his sprint with 200 metres to go, sweeping past Boeckmans’ stalling teammate Romain Feillu in the process. The final drag to the line would prove interminable for Boeckmans; by comparison, Démare seemed to glide over the ground behind, making up three lengths on the Belgian and adding another for good measure even as he sat up to savour his win.

“It was hard to measure your effort, but I felt that I still enough in reserve,” a smiling Démare said afterwards. The 21-year-old was fresh from a fourth place finish at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on Sunday, where he had acted as poisson pilote for Hutarovich, but the pair swapped roles in Belgium.

“At the briefing beforehand, it was decided that the guys would ride for me,” he said. “We’d already shown we could do that at Kuurne on Sunday, but this time the roles were different.”

Boeckmans was gallant in his bid for victory, but he freely admitted that he didn’t have the legs to sustain his effort on the drag to the finish. “In the last 50 metres, my legs were ready to explode, but Démare deserved the win,” he said. “It’s just a pity, because I was going well.”

The finishing straight was not altogether dissimilar from the finale on which Démare took his world title last September, and the parallels with Copenhagen were all the more appropriate given that his lead-out man on that occasion, Adrien Petit, came home in third place.

How it unfolded

The colour and tumult of the spring classics seemed a lifetime away as the peloton set out from Frameries under slate grey skies on Wednesday afternoon, but once the flag was dropped, there was no shortage of Belgian riders keen to get up the road. When the day’s break finally went, it was headlined by Iljo Keisse (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), who had Dennis Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol), Jonathan Breyne (Landbouwkrediet), Kevin Van Melsen (Accent Jobs) and Antoine Demoitie (Idemasport) for company.

It wasn’t until that quintet built up a lead of 8 minutes that the peloton was stirred from its slumber and FDJ-BigMat and Garmin-Barracuda assiduously set about tapping away at the deficit.

In spite of Keisse’s best efforts on the finishing circuit, particularly on the cobbled Côte de la Roquette, the break was reeled in with 25km to go, following a particularly long stint of tempo riding from Thomas Dekker (Garmin-Barracuda) behind.

Edwig Cammaerts (Cofidis) was an aggressive presence on the final lap of the circuit, and his forcing provided the impetus for Johan Le Bon (Bretagne-Schuller) and Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar) to go clear with 14km to go, but they never able to move out of sight of the peloton.

The next to try his luck was Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) as the young Pole jumped off the front after Jakob Fuglsang (RadioShack-Nissan) upped the pace on the final climb. His lead never stretched beyond ten seconds, however, and he too was captured as FDJ-BigMat took matters in hand for their young sprint talent Démare.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat4:31:17
2Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling TeamRow 1 - Cell 2
3Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En LigneRow 2 - Cell 2
4Anthony Ravard (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 3 - Cell 2
5Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Radioshack-NissanRow 4 - Cell 2
6Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Katusha TeamRow 5 - Cell 2
7Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling TeamRow 6 - Cell 2
8Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha TeamRow 7 - Cell 2
9Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne - SchullerRow 8 - Cell 2
10Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickstepRow 9 - Cell 2
11Michel Kreder (Ned) Team Garmin-CerveloRow 10 - Cell 2
12Staf Scherlinckx (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Véranda'sRow 11 - Cell 2
13Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetappRow 12 - Cell 2
14Rony Martias (Fra) Saur - SojasunRow 13 - Cell 2
15Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - MercatorRow 14 - Cell 2
16Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha TeamRow 15 - Cell 2
17Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne - SchullerRow 16 - Cell 2
18Steve Tronet (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93Row 17 - Cell 2
19Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 18 - Cell 2
20Bert De Waele (Bel) LandbouwkredietRow 19 - Cell 2
21Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) An Post - Sean KellyRow 20 - Cell 2
22Niko Eeckhout (Bel) An Post - Sean KellyRow 21 - Cell 2
23Johan Le Bon (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller0:00:07
24Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickstepRow 23 - Cell 2
25Jan Bakelants (Bel) Radioshack-NissanRow 24 - Cell 2
26Renaud Dion (Fra) Bretagne - SchullerRow 25 - Cell 2
27Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En LigneRow 26 - Cell 2
28Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha TeamRow 27 - Cell 2
29Nikolay Trusov (Rus) RusveloRow 28 - Cell 2
30Kenny De Haes (Bel) Lotto - Belisol TeamRow 29 - Cell 2
31Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator0:00:16
32Joost Posthuma (Ned) Radioshack-Nissan0:00:18
33Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Ag2R La MondialeRow 32 - Cell 2
34Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - MercatorRow 33 - Cell 2
35Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) LandbouwkredietRow 34 - Cell 2
36Grischa Janorschke (Ger) Team NetappRow 35 - Cell 2
37Benjamin King (USA) Radioshack-NissanRow 36 - Cell 2
38Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling TeamRow 37 - Cell 2
39Zico Waeytens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - MercatorRow 38 - Cell 2
40Edwig Cammaerts (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En LigneRow 39 - Cell 2
41Hayden Roulston (NZl) Radioshack-NissanRow 40 - Cell 2
42Kevyn Ista (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Véranda'sRow 41 - Cell 2
43Jack Bauer (NZl) Team Garmin-CerveloRow 42 - Cell 2
44Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-QuickstepRow 43 - Cell 2
45Gregor Gazvoda (Slo) Ag2R La MondialeRow 44 - Cell 2
46David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar0:00:23
47Said Haddou (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 46 - Cell 2
48Robin Stenuit (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit AgricoleRow 47 - Cell 2
49Frederic Amorison (Bel) LandbouwkredietRow 48 - Cell 2
50Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) Lotto - Belisol TeamRow 49 - Cell 2
51Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling TeamRow 50 - Cell 2
52Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar0:00:26
53Mathieu Halleguen (Fra) Bretagne - SchullerRow 52 - Cell 2
54Vanheuverswijn Q. (Bel) Idemasport - Bio WanzeRow 53 - Cell 2
55Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat0:00:30
56Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Katusha TeamRow 55 - Cell 2
57Boris Zimine (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetropoleRow 56 - Cell 2
58Lloyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 57 - Cell 2
59Christophe Laborie (Fra) Saur - SojasunRow 58 - Cell 2
60Gaetan Bille (Bel) Lotto - Belisol TeamRow 59 - Cell 2
61Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) LandbouwkredietRow 60 - Cell 2
62Maarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto - Belisol TeamRow 61 - Cell 2
63Florent Barle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En LigneRow 62 - Cell 2
64Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93Row 63 - Cell 2
65Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En LigneRow 64 - Cell 2
66Ben Hermans (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan0:00:35
67Guillaume Blot (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller0:00:41
68Jerôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep0:00:47
69Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big MatRow 68 - Cell 2
70David Boucher (Bel) FDJ-Big MatRow 69 - Cell 2
71Benoît Drujon (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93Row 70 - Cell 2
72Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team NetappRow 71 - Cell 2
73Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto - Belisol TeamRow 72 - Cell 2
74Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto - Belisol TeamRow 73 - Cell 2
75Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En LigneRow 74 - Cell 2
76Morgan Kneisky (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetropoleRow 75 - Cell 2
77Steven Van Vooren (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - MercatorRow 76 - Cell 2
78Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling TeamRow 77 - Cell 2
79Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep0:00:57
80Marco Bandiera (Ita) Omega Pharma-QuickstepRow 79 - Cell 2
81Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quickstep0:01:19
82Alex Rasmussen (Den) Team Garmin-CerveloRow 81 - Cell 2
83Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Radioshack-NissanRow 82 - Cell 2
84Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ-Big MatRow 83 - Cell 2
85Markus Eichler (Ger) Team Netapp0:01:29
86Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team0:01:36
87Tom Goovaerts (Bel) Colba-SuperanoRow 86 - Cell 2
88Maxime Mederel (Fra) Saur - SojasunRow 87 - Cell 2
89Nikita Eskov (Rus) RusveloRow 88 - Cell 2
90Maxime Anciaux (Bel) Idemasport - Bio WanzeRow 89 - Cell 2
91Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha TeamRow 90 - Cell 2
92Björn Thurau (Ger) Team EuropcarRow 91 - Cell 2
93Tom Vanbecelaere (Bel) Colba-SuperanoRow 92 - Cell 2
94Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 93 - Cell 2
95Ben Gastauer (Lux) Ag2R La MondialeRow 94 - Cell 2
96Argueles Rodriges (Rus) RusveloRow 95 - Cell 2
97Mark Mc Nally (GBr) An Post - Sean KellyRow 96 - Cell 2
98Ronan Mc Laughlin (Irl) An Post - Sean KellyRow 97 - Cell 2
99Sam Bennett (Irl) An Post - Sean KellyRow 98 - Cell 2
100Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling TeamRow 99 - Cell 2
101Jean-Lou Paiani (Fra) Saur - SojasunRow 100 - Cell 2
102Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Team NetappRow 101 - Cell 2
103Timon Seubert (Ger) Team NetappRow 102 - Cell 2
104Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs - Willems Véranda'sRow 103 - Cell 2
105Paul Poux (Fra) Saur - SojasunRow 104 - Cell 2
106Martin Mortensen (Den) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling TeamRow 105 - Cell 2
107Julien Stassen (Bel) Idemasport - Bio WanzeRow 106 - Cell 2
108Evert Verbist (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Véranda'sRow 107 - Cell 2
109Anthony Colin (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetropoleRow 108 - Cell 2
110Justin Van Hoecke (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit AgricoleRow 109 - Cell 2
111Julien Guay (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetropoleRow 110 - Cell 2
112Fabio Polazzi (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit AgricoleRow 111 - Cell 2
113Cyril Bessy (Fra) Saur - SojasunRow 112 - Cell 2
114Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 113 - Cell 2
115Bobbie Traksel (Ned) LandbouwkredietRow 114 - Cell 2
116Boris Dron (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit AgricoleRow 115 - Cell 2
117Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Bretagne - SchullerRow 116 - Cell 2
118Tony Hurel (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 117 - Cell 2
119Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto - Belisol TeamRow 118 - Cell 2
120Jerome Baugnies (Bel) Team NetappRow 119 - Cell 2
121Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big MatRow 120 - Cell 2
122Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - MercatorRow 121 - Cell 2
123Sven Jodts (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - MercatorRow 122 - Cell 2
124Marc De Maar (AHo) Unitedhealthcare Pro CyclingRow 123 - Cell 2
125Sylvain Georges (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 124 - Cell 2
126Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - MercatorRow 125 - Cell 2
127Loïc Desriac (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetropoleRow 126 - Cell 2
128Jonathan Thire (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93Row 127 - Cell 2
129Johan Mombaerts (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93Row 128 - Cell 2
130Jeffry Louder (USA) Unitedhealthcare Pro CyclingRow 129 - Cell 2
131Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - SojasunRow 130 - Cell 2
132Nicolas Rousseau (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93Row 131 - Cell 2
133Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickstepRow 132 - Cell 2
134Robert Wagner (Ger) Radioshack-NissanRow 133 - Cell 2
135Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En LigneRow 134 - Cell 2
136Grégory Habeaux (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Véranda'sRow 135 - Cell 2
137Thomas Degand (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Véranda's0:02:28
138Antoine Demoitie (Bel) Idemasport - Bio WanzeRow 137 - Cell 2
139Kevin Lalouette (Fra) Roubaix Lille MetropoleRow 138 - Cell 2
140Jimmy Casper (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale0:03:38
141Thomas Dekker (Ned) Team Garmin-Cervelo0:04:17
142Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) An Post - Sean KellyRow 141 - Cell 2
143Sean Patrick Downey (Irl) An Post - Sean Kelly0:05:29
144Christopher Jones (USA) Unitedhealthcare Pro CyclingRow 143 - Cell 2
145Jonathan Breyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet0:06:37
146Joris Cornet (Bel) Lotto - Bodysol Pole Continental WallonRow 145 - Cell 2
147Glenn Van De Maele (Bel) Lotto - Bodysol Pole Continental WallonRow 146 - Cell 2
148Laurent Pichon (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller0:07:06
149Loic Pestiaux (Bel) Idemasport - Bio WanzeRow 148 - Cell 2
150Olivier Poppe (Bel) Lotto - Bodysol Pole Continental WallonRow 149 - Cell 2
151Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) LandbouwkredietRow 150 - Cell 2
152Benjamin Gourgue (Bel) Lotto - Bodysol Pole Continental WallonRow 151 - Cell 2
153Bradley White (USA) Unitedhealthcare Pro CyclingRow 152 - Cell 2
154Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusveloRow 153 - Cell 2
155Gilles Devillers (Bel) LandbouwkredietRow 154 - Cell 2
156Ian Vansumere (Bel) Lotto - Bodysol Pole Continental WallonRow 155 - Cell 2
157Gaëtan Pons (Bel) Lotto - Bodysol Pole Continental WallonRow 156 - Cell 2
158Kevin Suarez (Bel) Colba-SuperanoRow 157 - Cell 2
159Victor Manakov (Rus) RusveloRow 158 - Cell 2

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