Terpstra wins second Le Samyn title
Gilbert makes it a 1-2 for Quick-Step Floors
Le Samyn was Quick-Step Floor's race to lose, and they didn't. Niki Terpstra jumped and cleared the final three-man breakaway, and muscled his way around the day's gruelling, cobbled circuit before finishing with his second victory in Dour.
It was a case of classic tactics as Quick-Step's Philippe Gilbert, also in the final move, as he backed lone rival Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie) into the unfortunate position of having to perform a futile chase only to finish third as Gilbert rode around him on the run-in to the finish line for second place.
"I am very happy, but must say we suffered today with every kilometer, because the cold made use spend a lot of energy," Terpstra said. "It wasn't easy to race in these conditions, but fortunately it worked out well for us at the end of the day. We knew the break was strong and the responsibility was on us, so that's why we attacked in the crosswinds from afar.
"We went full gas and turned everything into an elimination race, with more and more guys getting tired and dropped. The team rode a textbook race, Philippe was perfect in the finale and we just made use of our numerical advantage, so that I could get away and take this beautiful win."
The peloton had a chance to stretch its legs during Belgium's 'opening weekend' with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, where Quick-Step Floors came up empty-handed. And so, perhaps out of sheer frustration, they came out swinging mid-week for Le Samyn's 200km race between Quaregon and Dour.
The parcours was unforgiving, featuring four bergs in the first half. It was tough enough for an early split with Gaudin, Maxime Daniel (Fortuneo), Tom Devriendt (Wany Groupe-Gobert), Quentin Jauregui (AG2R-La Mondiale), Johan Le Bon (Vital Concept), Casper Pedersen (Aqua Blue), Franklin Six and Alex Kirsch (WB Aqua Sport) clearing the field.
Once the climbs were out of the way, Quick-Step Floors amassed at the front of the peloton with a pace so fast that it forced a split with 10 chasers - six of those were from Quick-Step.
Former winners Gilbert and Terpstra along with Tim Declercq, Davide Martinelli, Florian Sénéchal, and Zdenek Stybar controlled the chase; hell-bent on catching the breakaway, while Boris Vallée (Wanty Group-Gobert), Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal) and Maxime Daniel (Fortuneo) sat tight on the back. They made the catch.
At the half-way mark, the parcours entered the final four circuits, and the now 16-rider lead group held on to a 40-second lead, neither here nor there because Quick-Step planned to further blow the race apart over the four cobbled sectors on each lap.
They shelled riders one by one; first, it was Six followed by Vallée and then Quick-Step's own Declercq, understandably tired after his efforts to drive the move earlier on.
Only the strongest survived, Gilbert and Terpstra led, while Gaudin, Van der Sande and Kirsch followed, building out 46 seconds on the dropped riders and 1:15 ahead of the field with 50km (2 laps) remaining.
Terpstra and Gilbert pushed hard over the cobblestones, often moving over to the dirt gutters for fast, smooth pedalling, and their efforts eventually shed Van der Sande and Kirsch.
Van der Sande and Kirsch tried desperately to regain contact with the trio. Reinforcement arrived as defending champion Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Wanty Groupe -Gobert), who wasn't willing to hand over the race to Quick-Step, along with Adrien Petit (Direct Energie) and Gediminas Bagdonas (AG2R La Mondiale), latched on. By that time, however, the gap to the leaders had swelled to an almost unbridgeable 50 seconds.
Trapped in the uncomfortable position of not wanting to help his Quick-Step rivals but wanting to reap some small reward for his huge effort, Gaudin swapped equal pulls with Terpstra and Gilbert on the last lap.
Quick-Step's inevitable attack on Gaudin began inside 15km to go; first, Gilbert went, and then it only took one counter attack from Terpstra to break the Frenchman. Gaudin conceded the first place prize to Terpstra, and then second to Gilbert, but he kept the third place - a small reward for such a big effort.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick - Step Floors | 4:47:48 |
2 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick - Step Floors | 0:00:04 |
3 | Damien Gaudin (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:00:46 |
4 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:01:18 |
5 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | |
6 | Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | 0:01:21 |
7 | Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Samsic | 0:01:59 |
8 | Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale | |
9 | Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
10 | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:02:02 |
11 | Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:02:08 |
12 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
13 | Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Quick - Step Floors | 0:02:19 |
14 | Jelle Mannaerts (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex | |
15 | Tanner Putt (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | |
16 | Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Vital Concept Cycling Club | |
17 | Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Ago - Aqua Service | |
18 | Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | |
19 | Romain Cardis (Fra) Direct Energie | |
20 | Sean De Bie (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Crelan | |
21 | Charlie Arimont (Bel) Ago - Aqua Service | |
22 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
23 | Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
24 | Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | |
25 | Tom Dernies (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
26 | Ludwig De Winter (Bel) Wb Aqua Protect Veranclassic | |
27 | Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
28 | Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
29 | Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
30 | Floris Gerts (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
31 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
32 | Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
33 | Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
34 | Lawrence Naesen (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
35 | Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
36 | Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Veranda's Willems - Crelan | 0:02:26 |
37 | Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
38 | Bram Welten (Ned) Team Fortuneo - Samsic | |
39 | Julien Morice (Fra) Vital Concept Cycling Club | |
40 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:02:37 |
41 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:02:40 |
42 | Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:46 |
43 | Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:03:13 |
44 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Crelan | 0:03:42 |
45 | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
46 | Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:03:44 |
47 | Stijn Steels (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Crelan | |
48 | Michael Goolaerts (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Crelan | 0:04:42 |
49 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:07:11 |
50 | Dorian Godon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
51 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Samsic | |
52 | Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | |
53 | Senne Leysen (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Crelan | 0:08:07 |
54 | Elias Van Breussegem (Bel) Veranda's Willems - Crelan | 0:08:28 |
55 | Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 0:08:31 |
56 | Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick - Step Floors | 0:08:52 |
57 | Pierre Idjouadiene (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
58 | Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | |
59 | David Boucher (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex | |
60 | Maxime Farazijn (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
61 | Lennert Teugels (Bel) Cibel - Cebon | |
62 | Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
63 | Emiel Vermeulen (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Matthias Legley (Bel) Sovac - Natura4Ever | |
DNF | Samuel Leroux (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Alexander Maes (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex | |
DNF | Niels De Rooze (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex | |
DNF | Thomas Joly (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Jelle Cant (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex | |
DNF | Pierre Barbier (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Laurin Winter (Ger) Team Differdange Losch | |
DNF | Michiel Stockman (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex | |
DNF | Kenny Dehaes (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | |
DNF | Ugo Dangelo (Bel) T.Palm - Pôle Continental Wallon | |
DNF | Robin Stenuit (Bel) Sovac - Natura4Ever | |
DNF | Lander Seynaeve (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole | |
DNF | Abram Stockman (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex | |
DNF | Timothy Stevens (Bel) Cibel - Cebon | |
DNF | Arthur Baude (Bel) Ago - Aqua Service | |
DNF | Franklin Six (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | |
DNF | Anthony Debuy (Bel) Ago - Aqua Service | |
DNF | Tom Paquot (Bel) Ago - Aqua Service | |
DNF | Pierre Goebeert (Bel) Ago - Aqua Service | |
DNF | Kenny Molly (Bel) Ago - Aqua Service | |
DNF | Dennis Coenen (Bel) Cibel - Cebon | |
DNF | Wim Reynaerts (Bel) Cibel - Cebon | |
DNF | Roy Jans (Bel) Cibel - Cebon | |
DNF | Louis Deguide (Bel) Sovac - Natura4Ever | |
DNF | Brecht Ruyters (Bel) Cibel - Cebon | |
DNF | Alexander Geuens (Bel) Sovac - Natura4Ever | |
DNF | Jelle Donders (Bel) Team Differdange Losch | |
DNF | Olivier Pardini (Bel) Team Differdange Losch | |
DNF | Joshua Teasdale (GBr) Team Differdange Losch | |
DNF | Tom Vermeer (Ned) Team Differdange Losch | |
DNF | Kevin Verwaest (Bel) Team Differdange Losch | |
DNF | Jan Petelin (Lux) Team Differdange Losch | |
DNF | Gaetan Bille (Bel) Sovac - Natura4Ever | |
DNF | Vincent De Sy (Bel) T.Palm - Pôle Continental Wallon | |
DNF | Florian Deriaux (Fra) Sovac - Natura4Ever | |
DNF | Laurent Evrard (Bel) Sovac - Natura4Ever | |
DNF | Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Cibel - Cebon | |
DNF | Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
DNF | Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) Vital Concept Cycling Club | |
DNF | Travis Mccabe (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | |
DNF | Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | |
DNF | Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
DNF | Mathias Van Gompel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
DNF | Casper Phillip Pedersen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | |
DNF | Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport | |
DNF | Shane Archbold (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport | |
DNF | Eric Marcotte (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | |
DNF | Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
DNF | Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (Col) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | |
DNF | Jeremy Cornu (Fra) Direct Energie | |
DNF | Wouter Wippert (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
DNF | Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
DNF | Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie | |
DNF | Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) Team Fortuneo - Samsic | |
DNF | Simon Sellier (Fra) Direct Energie | |
DNF | Maxime Daniel (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Samsic | |
DNF | Florian Vachon (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Samsic | |
DNF | Loic Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
DNF | Steven Lammertink (Ned) Vital Concept Cycling Club | |
DNF | Tomas Petit (Bel) T.Palm - Pôle Continental Wallon | |
DNF | Edward Walsh (Can) T.Palm - Pôle Continental Wallon | |
DNF | Ross Lamb (GBr) T.Palm - Pôle Continental Wallon | |
DNF | Adam Lewis (GBr) T.Palm - Pôle Continental Wallon | |
DNF | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Romain Le Roux (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Samsic | |
DNF | Johan Le Bon (Fra) Vital Concept Cycling Club | |
DNF | Mark McNally (GBr) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Daniel Eaton (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | |
DNF | Boris Vallee (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Guillaume Haag (Bel) T.Palm - Pôle Continental Wallon | |
DNF | Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Vital Concept Cycling Club | |
DNF | Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vital Concept Cycling Club | |
DNF | Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick - Step Floors | |
DNF | Lachlan Norris (Aus) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | |
DNF | Florian Senechal (Fra) Quick - Step Floors | |
DNF | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Quick - Step Floors | |
DNF | Alexander Cataford (Can) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team | |
DNS | Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport | |
DNS | Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits |
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