Terpstra solos to victory in Le Samyn

Niki Terpstra (Etixx-Quickstep) parlayed a 14km solo attack into victory in a miserable edition of Le Samyn. The Dutch champion quickly dispatched Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18), but the British rider held onto second ahead of a chasing group led home by Florian Senechal (Cofidis).

"It was a really tough race, as we rode full gas from the beginning," Terpstra said. "The last 10 kilometers were the hardest of the entire race. I knew I had about 15 seconds on Thwaites and I had to continue pulling. To make things even more difficult, the last 3 kilometers had a headwind and an uphill part. The weather conditions made the race beautiful in a strange way. I am happy with this victory, as it gives me confidence and comes as a confirmation that my condition is good for the upcoming Classics."

Cold rain, wind, and numerous rough cobbled sectors made this edition of Le Samyn particularly treacherous, and there were many crashes that disrupted the 203km race from Quaregnon to Dour in Wallonia. Philippe Gilbert (BMC) called it quits after the race hit the four 25km local circuits.

Gediminas Bagdonas (AG2R La Mondiale) led the peloton into the circuits, and was joined by an elite group that had separated itself from the rest of the race on the second of four laps.

With four cobbled secteurs on the circuit, the last coming with just under 3km to go, the race situation was constantly changing. Sean De Bie (Lotto Soudal) led for a time before being caught and dropping out. Then Katusha's Nils Pollit had a go.

Behind him only Terpstra, Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal), Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thwaites, Sven Erik Bystrøm (Katusha), Loïc Vliegen (BMC), Sénéchal, Tony Hurel (Direct Energie), Daniel McLay (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), and Tim Declercq (Topsport Vlaanderen) remained.

Politt led into the bell lap, but Senechal was almost single-handedly shutting down his gap, which hovered in the single digits with 25km to go.

Once the Katusha rider was caught, Terpstra launched a few probing attacks, but it wasn't until 14km to go that his efforts finally paid off, and only Thwaites could follow.

The Bora-Argon 18 rider had gone deep into the red to follow Terpstra, and though he tried to take a pull the Dutch rider was too strong and quickly left Thwaites in his dust.

Thwaites remained calm and continued to lay down power behind Terpstra. Though he was continually losing time to the leader, he managed to maintain a healthy gap over the pursuit, finishing eight seconds ahead of Senechal.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step4:52:52
2Scott Thwaites (GBr) Bora-Argon 180:00:19
3Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:00:37
4Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing TeamRow 3 - Cell 2
5Nils Politt (Ger) Team KatushaRow 4 - Cell 2
6Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:00:44
7Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Team KatushaRow 6 - Cell 2
8Tim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise0:00:46
9Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:00:48
10Tony Hurel (Fra) Direct Energie0:01:00
11Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:03:39
12Daniel McLay (GBr) Fortuneo - Vital Concept0:04:21
13Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal0:05:58
14Floris De Tier (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise0:05:59
15Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale0:06:06
16Olivier Pardini (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group Protect0:06:15
17Sander Helven (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 16 - Cell 2
18Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 17 - Cell 2
19Ralf Matzka (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 18 - Cell 2
20Davide Martinelli (Ita) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 19 - Cell 2
21Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty - Groupe Gobert0:06:37
22Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert0:10:36
23Martin Mortensen (Den) ONE Pro Cycling0:10:51
24Baptiste Plackaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group ProtectRow 23 - Cell 2
25Yanto Barker (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 24 - Cell 2
26Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier (Fra) FDJ0:11:09
27Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice0:11:33
28Stijn Steels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise0:11:52
DNFSander Armee (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 28 - Cell 2
DNFThomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 29 - Cell 2
DNFGert Dockx (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 30 - Cell 2
DNFFrederik Frison (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 31 - Cell 2
DNFTosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 32 - Cell 2
DNFLouis Vervaeke (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 33 - Cell 2
DNFJelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 34 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Berard (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 35 - Cell 2
DNFFrançois Bidard (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 36 - Cell 2
DNFNico Denz (Ger) AG2R La MondialeRow 37 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La MondialeRow 38 - Cell 2
DNFBiel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 39 - Cell 2
DNFPhilippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing TeamRow 40 - Cell 2
DNFTom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing TeamRow 41 - Cell 2
DNFMarcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing TeamRow 42 - Cell 2
DNFFloris Gerfs (Ned) BMC Racing TeamRow 43 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing TeamRow 44 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 45 - Cell 2
DNFJulian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 46 - Cell 2
DNFRodrigo Contreras (Col) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 47 - Cell 2
DNFGianni Meersman (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 48 - Cell 2
DNFGuillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 49 - Cell 2
DNFLukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 50 - Cell 2
DNFLaurens De Plus (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 51 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJRow 52 - Cell 2
DNFJohan Le Bon (Fra) FDJRow 53 - Cell 2
DNFOlivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJRow 54 - Cell 2
DNFLorenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJRow 55 - Cell 2
DNFYoann Offredo (Fra) FDJRow 56 - Cell 2
DNFCédric Pineau (Fra) FDJRow 57 - Cell 2
DNFDmitrii Kozonchuk (Rus) Team KatushaRow 58 - Cell 2
DNFVladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team KatushaRow 59 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Porsev (Rus) Team KatushaRow 60 - Cell 2
DNFJhonatan Restrepo (Col) Team KatushaRow 61 - Cell 2
DNFAleksei Tsatevich (Rus) Team KatushaRow 62 - Cell 2
DNFAnton Vorobyev (Rus) Team KatushaRow 63 - Cell 2
DNFKoen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 64 - Cell 2
DNFMartijn Keizer (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 65 - Cell 2
DNFMoreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 66 - Cell 2
DNFAlexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 67 - Cell 2
DNFZakkari Dempster (Aus) Bora-Argon 18Row 68 - Cell 2
DNFChristoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 69 - Cell 2
DNFLukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18Row 70 - Cell 2
DNFAndreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 71 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 72 - Cell 2
DNFLukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 73 - Cell 2
DNFTomasz Kiendys (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 74 - Cell 2
DNFJosef Cerny (Cze) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 75 - Cell 2
DNFEryk Laton (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 76 - Cell 2
DNFGrzegorz Stepniak (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 77 - Cell 2
DNFJaroslaw Marycz (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 78 - Cell 2
DNFBartlomiej Matysiak (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 79 - Cell 2
DNFJonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 80 - Cell 2
DNFRayane Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 81 - Cell 2
DNFLoïc Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 82 - Cell 2
DNFHugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 83 - Cell 2
DNFGert Joeaar (Est) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 84 - Cell 2
DNFKenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 85 - Cell 2
DNFAnthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 86 - Cell 2
DNFRomain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 87 - Cell 2
DNFFredrik Strand Galta (Nor) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 88 - Cell 2
DNFBenjamin Giraud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 89 - Cell 2
DNFMartin Laas (Est) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 90 - Cell 2
DNFChristophe Laborie (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 91 - Cell 2
DNFRyan Anderson (Can) Direct EnergieRow 92 - Cell 2
DNFRomain Cardis (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 93 - Cell 2
DNFJeremy Cornu (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 94 - Cell 2
DNFYohann Gene (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 95 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Morice (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 96 - Cell 2
DNFAlexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 97 - Cell 2
DNFGuillaume Thévenot (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 98 - Cell 2
DNFFranck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 99 - Cell 2
DNFJean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 100 - Cell 2
DNFKevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 101 - Cell 2
DNFMaxime Cam (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 102 - Cell 2
DNFBrice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 103 - Cell 2
DNFBoris Vallee (Bel) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 104 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Williams (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 105 - Cell 2
DNFKristian House (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 106 - Cell 2
DNFJoshua Hunt (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 107 - Cell 2
DNFThomas Baylis (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 108 - Cell 2
DNFSamuel Williams (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 109 - Cell 2
DNFChris Opie (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 110 - Cell 2
DNFHuub Duyn (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 111 - Cell 2
DNFEtienne Van Empel (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 112 - Cell 2
DNFBrian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 113 - Cell 2
DNFTim Kerkhof (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 114 - Cell 2
DNFMichel Kreder (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 115 - Cell 2
DNFIvar Slik (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 116 - Cell 2
DNFEliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 117 - Cell 2
DNFOtto Vergaerde (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFJef Van Meirhaeghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFJérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFAntoine Demoitie (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFKenny De Haes (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFRoy Jans (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 123 - Cell 2
DNFMark McNally (GBr) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 124 - Cell 2
DNFKevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFGaëtan Pons (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group ProtectRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFOlivier Chevalier (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group ProtectRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFKevin Ista (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group ProtectRow 128 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Stassen (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group ProtectRow 129 - Cell 2
DNFLudwig De Winter (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group ProtectRow 130 - Cell 2
DNFJimmy Duquennoy (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group ProtectRow 131 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Mortier (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 132 - Cell 2
DNFJohan Hemroulle (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 133 - Cell 2
DNFAntoine Loy (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 134 - Cell 2
DNFRemy Mertz (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 135 - Cell 2
DNFMartin Palm (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 136 - Cell 2
DNFMaximilien Picoux (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 137 - Cell 2
DNFFranklin Six (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 138 - Cell 2
DNFLionel Taminiaux (Bel) Color Code - Arden'beefRow 139 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Boucher (Fra) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 140 - Cell 2
DNFGerry Druyts (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 141 - Cell 2
DNFYannick Eijssen (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 142 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Geuens (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 143 - Cell 2
DNFPieter Jacobs (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 144 - Cell 2
DNFXandro Meurisse (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 145 - Cell 2
DNFFrederique Robert (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 146 - Cell 2
DNFTimothy Stevens (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 147 - Cell 2
DNFJonathan Breyne (Bel) Veranclassic - AGORow 148 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Van Den Brande (Bel) Veranclassic - AGORow 149 - Cell 2
DNFKenny Bouvry (Bel) Veranclassic - AGORow 150 - Cell 2
DNFJustin Jules (Fra) Veranclassic - AGORow 151 - Cell 2
DNFSam Lennertz (Bel) Veranclassic - AGORow 152 - Cell 2
DNFAntoine Leleu (Bel) Veranclassic - AGORow 153 - Cell 2
DNFDimitri Peyskens (Bel) Veranclassic - AGORow 154 - Cell 2
DNFYannick Mayer (Ger) Veranclassic - AGORow 155 - Cell 2
DNFBrecht Dhaene (Bel) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 156 - Cell 2
DNFJoeri Calleeuw (Bel) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 157 - Cell 2
DNFJari Verstraeten (Bel) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 158 - Cell 2
DNFDries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 159 - Cell 2
DNFTim De Troyer (Bel) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 160 - Cell 2
DNFAidis Kruopis (Ltu) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 161 - Cell 2
DNFJan Ghyselinck (Bel) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 162 - Cell 2
DNFChristophe Premont (Bel) Veranda's Willems Cycling TeamRow 163 - Cell 2
DNFJelle Mannaerts (Bel) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 164 - Cell 2
DNFJelle Donders (Bel) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 165 - Cell 2
DNFKevin Suarez Martinez (Bel) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 166 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Leigh (GBr) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 167 - Cell 2
DNFDillon Byrne (GBr) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 168 - Cell 2
DNFKevin Verwaest (Bel) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 169 - Cell 2
DNFGorik Gardeyn (Bel) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 170 - Cell 2
DNFJoren Touquet (Bel) Superano Ham - IsorexRow 171 - Cell 2
DNFEdwig Cammaerts (Bel) Team 3MRow 172 - Cell 2
DNFGertjan De Vos (Bel) Team 3MRow 173 - Cell 2
DNFLaurent Evrard (Bel) Team 3MRow 174 - Cell 2
DNFPiotr Havik (Ned) Team 3MRow 175 - Cell 2
DNFChristophe Sleurs (Bel) Team 3MRow 176 - Cell 2
DNFRicardo Van Dongen (Ned) Team 3MRow 177 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Vingerling (Ned) Team 3MRow 178 - Cell 2
DNFKenny Willems (Bel) Team 3MRow 179 - Cell 2
DNFCalvin Watson (Aus) An Post-ChainreactionRow 180 - Cell 2
DNFNicolas Vereecken (Bel) An Post-ChainreactionRow 181 - Cell 2
DNFEmiel Wastyn (Bel) An Post-ChainreactionRow 182 - Cell 2
DNFJasper Bovenhuis (Ned) An Post-ChainreactionRow 183 - Cell 2
DNFJack Wilson (Irl) An Post-ChainreactionRow 184 - Cell 2
DNFConnor McConvey (Irl) An Post-ChainreactionRow 185 - Cell 2
DNFJordan Stannus (Aus) An Post-ChainreactionRow 186 - Cell 2
DNFJacob Scott (GBr) An Post-ChainreactionRow 187 - Cell 2

 

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