Tsatevich wins Le Samyn

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Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha) claimed victory at Le Samyn after holding off the peloton in Dour on Wednesday, while Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil-DCM) beat Adrien Petit (Cofidis) to second place.

Tsatevich showed considerable strength on the deceptively difficult rise to the finish line at Dour. When Sébastien Chavanel (Europcar) tried to spring a surprise by opening his effort early inside the final 500 metres, the Russian was swiftly onto his wheel. When Chavanel began to flag, Tsatevich came around him and had more than enough in the tank to hold off the peloton closing behind.

"The team gave me a chance to try today, the whole race was done around me and I am thankful for that,” Tsatevich said afterwards. “In the final part of the race I said to the team that I am ok and can try, so, my teammates did everything possible to help me and to provide an ideal position in the finish. I was waiting for the mass sprint, but a rider from Europcar attacked before it. I took his wheel and was able to save the energy. In the last meters I started my sprint to win.”

The day’s racing was animated by an early break featuring Elias Van Breussegem (Doltcini-Flanders), Luke Rowe (Sky) and Thomas Sprengers (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise). The trio opened a lead of 5 minutes at one point, before the peloton reacted in earnest. Rowe was the final survivor of the move, but he was swept up with 12km to race.

At that point, a bunch finish seemed inevitable, but Rowe’s teammate Geraint Thomas was keen to try his luck, first attacking as part of a four-man move with Ian Stannard, and later forcing his way clear alone. The in-form Welshman threatened to upset the odds, but the work of a number of teams, including FDJ, saw him pegged back before the finish.

Unfortunately for FDJ, their sprint hopeful Arnaud Démare had his hopes thwarted by a late puncture and the scene was set for an extremely open bunch finish, where Tsatevich seized the initiative and reaped the rewards.

“I am happy that I was able to realize the wish of the team and win today,” he said. “I came to Belgium a little bit earlier than the other members of Katusha, so I had some more days to train. That was one of key moments for today’s success.”