2016 Grand Prix Cycliste Le Samyn (1.1), Belgium
48th edition: Wednesday, March 2, 2016
GP Le Samyn Podium history | 2015 edition | 2017 edition | Route map | Start list
Quaregnon - Dour, 202.6 kms
Niki Terpstra becomes the first Dutchman in 13 years to win Le Samyn
The race: as told by race winner Niki Terpstra's Etixx-Quick Step team.
The Dutch champion opened his 2016 account in Belgium, with a solo victory after an epic day in the saddle.
On a day which announced itself like a 19-century impressionist painting, with grim weather, rain and strong crosswinds, around 190 riders lined up at the start in Quaregnon for what turned out to be a survival test, which is something normal when it comes down to Belgian races. For many, it was a tough one, so they called quits before the race hit its half-point, while others kept on giving their all and continuing the fight in which they were engaged not only with their opponents, but also with the tough conditions.
Le Samyn was gruesome due to the weather, but also because of the course which included several climbs (one right at the finish) and 16 cobbled sectors, which took their toll during the race. This natural selection meant that many riders attacked and tried to leave everyone else behind, but even though the peloton was shattered, those solo actions didn't succeed, and with 30 kilometers to go, the front group still included around 15 men.
At the end of this day, the one to come out on top was Niki Terpstra, who was not only the strongest, but also the one who knew how to dose his effort and when to make the right move. The Dutchman forced a selection twice in the last 20 kilometers of the race, and no one could match his fierce accelerations. Then, as soon as he got a gap over Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18) as a result of his monster attack, Terpstra rode in auto pilot mode and put 15 seconds between him and the Brit before the final pavé.
Soloing to the win, his first since last July's general classification at the Tour de Wallonie, Niki unzipped his rain jacket and showed the beautiful Dutch champion jersey which he took last year, in Emmen. In Dour, where the 48th edition of Le Samyn came to an end, the 31-year-old Terpstra scored the 16th victory of Etixx – Quick-Step since the start of the season.
"It was a really tough race, as we rode full gas from the beginning. 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", said Niki Terpstra after becoming the first Dutch rider in 13 years to win Le Samyn.
Complete Results: that's right, just 28 finishers
202.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.507 km/hr
| 1 | Niki Terpstra | Etixx-Quick Step | 4hr 52min 52sec |
| 2 | Scott Thwaites | Bora-Argon 18 | +19sec |
| 3 | Florian Sénéchal | Cofidis | +37'' |
| 4 | Loïc Vliegen | BMC | s.t. |
| 5 | Nils Politt | Katusha | +37'' |
| 6 | Dylan Groenewegen | LottoNL-Jumbo | +44'' |
| 7 | Sven Erik Bystrøm | Katusha | s.t. |
| 8 | Tim Declercq | Topsport Vlaanderen | +46'' |
| 9 | Maarten Wynants | LottoNL-Jumbo | +48'' |
| 10 | Tony Hurel | Direct Énergie | +1' 00'' |
| 11 | Maxime Daniel | Ag2r | +3' 39'' |
| 12 | Daniel McLay | Fortuneo-Vital Concept | +4' 21'' |
| 13 | Sean De Bie | Lotto-Soudal | +5' 58'' |
| 14 | Floris De Tier | Topsport Vlaanderen | +5' 59'' |
| 15 | Gediminas Bagdonas | Ag2r | +6' 06'' |
| 16 | Olivier Pardini | Wallonie-Bruxelles | +6' 15'' |
| 17 | Sander Helven | Topsport Vlaanderen | s.t. |
| 18 | Twan Castelijns | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 19 | Ralf Matzka | Bora-Argon 18 | s.t. |
| 20 | Davide Martinelli | Etixx-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 21 | Marco Marcato | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +6' 37'' |
| 22 | Dimitri Claeys | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | +10' 36'' |
| 23 | Martin Mortensen | One Pro Cycling | +10' 51'' |
| 24 | Baptiste Planckaert | Wallonie-Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 25 | Yanto Barker | One Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 26 | Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier | FDJ | +11' 09'' |
| 27 | Adrian Kurek | CCC Spraindi Polkowice | +11' 33'' |
| 28 | Stijn Steels | Topsport Vlaanderen | +11' 52'' |
Le Samyn map
| LOTTO-SOUDAL | |
| 1 | ARMEE Sander |
| 2 | DE BIE Sean |
| 3 | DE GENDT Thomas |
| 4 | DOCKX Gert |
| 5 | FRISON Frederik |
| 6 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh |
| 7 | VERVAEKE Louis |
| 8 | WALLAYS Jelle |
| AG2R-LA MONDIALE | |
| 11 | BAGDONAS Gediminas |
| 12 | BÉRARD Julien |
| 13 | BIDARD François |
| 14 | DANIEL Maxime |
| 15 | DENZ Nico |
| 16 | GRETSCH Patrick |
| 17 | KADRI Blel |
| BMC | |
| 21 | GILBERT Philippe |
| 22 | BOHLI Tom |
| 23 | BURGHARDT Marcus |
| 24 | GERTS Floris |
| 25 | ROSSKOPF Joey |
| 26 | SENNI Manuel |
| 27 | VLIEGEN Loïc |
| ETIXX-QUICK STEP | |
| 31 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian |
| 32 | CONTRERAS Rodrigo |
| 33 | MEERSMAN Gianni |
| 34 | TERPSTRA Niki |
| 35 | VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume |
| 36 | MARTINELLI Davide |
| 37 | WISNIOWSKI Lukasz |
| 38 | DE PLUS Laurens |
| FDJ | |
| 42 | LECUISINIER Pierre-Henri |
| 43 | HOELGAARD Daniel |
| 44 | LE BON Johan |
| 45 | LE GAC Olivier |
| 46 | MANZIN Lorrenzo |
| 47 | OFFREDO Yohan |
| 48 | PINEAU Cedric |
| KATUSHA | |
| 51 | BYSTROM Sven Erik |
| 52 | KOZONTCHUK Dmitriy |
| 53 | ISAYCHEV Vladimir |
| 54 | POLITT Nils |
| 55 | PORSEV Alexander |
| 56 | RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan |
| 57 | TSATEVITCH Alexey |
| 58 | VOROBYEV Anton |
| LOTTO NL-JUMBO | |
| 61 | BOUWMAN Koen |
| 62 | CASTELIJNS Twan |
| 63 | GROENEWEGEN Dylan |
| 64 | KEIZER Martijn |
| 65 | HOFLAND Moreno |
| 67 | VERMEULEN Alexey |
| 68 | WYNANTS Maarten |
| BORA-ARGON 18 | |
| 72 | DEMPSTER Zakkari |
| 73 | MATZKA Ralf |
| 74 | PFINGSTEN Christoph |
| 75 | POSTLBERGER Lukas |
| 76 | SCHILLINGER Andreas |
| 77 | SCHWARZMANN Michael |
| 78 | THWAITES Scott |
| CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE | |
| 81 | OWSIAN Lukasz |
| 82 | KIENDYS Tomasz |
| 83 | KUREK Adrian |
| 84 | CERNY Josef |
| 85 | LATON Eryk |
| 86 | STEPNIAK Grzegorz |
| 87 | MARYCZ Jaroslaw |
| 88 | MATYSIAK Bartlomiej |
| COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS | |
| 91 | AHLSTRAND Jonas |
| 92 | BOUHANNI Rayane |
| 93 | CHETOUT Loïc |
| 94 | HOFSTETTER Hugo |
| 95 | JOEAAR Gert |
| 96 | SENECHAL Florian |
| 97 | VAN BILSEN Kenneth |
| 98 | PEREZ Anthony |
| DELKO MARSEILLE PROVENCE KTM | |
| 103 | COMBAUD Romain |
| 104 | GALTA Frederik Strand |
| 105 | GIRAUD Benjamin |
| 106 | LAAS Martin |
| 107 | LABORIE Christophe |
| DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| 111 | ANDERSON Ryan |
| 112 | CARDIS Romain |
| 113 | CORNU Jérémy |
| 114 | GENE Yohann |
| 115 | HUREL Tony |
| 116 | MORICE Julien |
| 117 | PICHOT Alexandre |
| 118 | THÉVENOT Guillaume |
| FORTUNEO-VITAL CONCEPT | |
| 121 | BONNAMOUR Franck |
| 122 | BIDEAU Jean-Marc |
| 123 | MCLAY Daniel |
| 124 | LEDANOIS Kevin |
| 125 | CAM Maxime |
| 127 | FEILLU Brice |
| 128 | VALLEE Boris |
| ONE PRO CYCLING | |
| 131 | WILLIAMS Peter |
| 132 | HOUSE Kristian |
| 133 | HUNT Joshua |
| 134 | BAYLIS Thomas |
| 135 | WILLIAMS Samuel |
| 136 | OPIE Chris |
| 137 | MORTENSEN Martin |
| 138 | BARKER Yanto |
| ROOMPOT ORANJE PELOTON | |
| 141 | DUYN Huub |
| 142 | VAN EMPEL Etienne |
| 143 | VAN GOETHEM Brian |
| 145 | KERKHOF Tim |
| 146 | KREDER Michel |
| 147 | SLIK Ivar |
| TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| 151 | DE TIER Floris |
| 152 | LIETAER Eliot |
| 153 | DECLERCQ Tim |
| 155 | HELVEN Sander |
| 156 | STEELS Stijn |
| 157 | VERGAERDE Otto |
| 158 | VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef |
| WANTY-GROUPE GOBERT | |
| 161 | MARCATO Marco |
| 162 | BAUGNIES Jérôme |
| 163 | CLAEYS Dimitri |
| 164 | DEMOITIE Antoine |
| 165 | DE HAES Kenny |
| 166 | JANS Roy |
| 167 | MCNALLY Mark |
| 168 | VAN MELSEN Kevin |
| WALLONIE BRUXELLES | |
| 171 | PONS Gaetan |
| 172 | CHEVALIER Olivier |
| 173 | ISTA Kevin |
| 174 | PARDINI Olivier |
| 175 | STASSEN Julien |
| 176 | PLANCKAERT Baptiste |
| 177 | DE WINTER Ludwig |
| 178 | DUQUENNOY Jimmy |
| COLOR CODE-ARDEN'BEEF | |
| 181 | MORTIER Julien |
| 182 | HEMROULLE Johan |
| 183 | LOY Antoine |
| 184 | MERTZ Rémy |
| 185 | PALM Martin |
| 186 | PICOUX Maximilien |
| 187 | SIX Franklin |
| 188 | TAMINIAUX Lionel |
| CRELAN-VASTGOEDSERVICE | |
| 191 | BOUCHER David |
| 192 | DRUYTS Gerry |
| 193 | EIJSSEN Yannick |
| 194 | GEUENS Alexander |
| 195 | JACOBS Pieter |
| 196 | MEURISSE Xandro |
| 197 | ROBERT Frederique |
| 198 | STEVENS Timothy |
| VERANCLASSIC-AGO | |
| 201 | BREYNE Jonathan |
| 202 | VAN DEN BRANDE Julien |
| 203 | BOUVRY Kenny |
| 204 | JULES Justin |
| 205 | LENNERTZ Sam |
| 206 | LELEU Antoine |
| 207 | PEYSKENS Dimitri |
| 208 | MAYER Yannick |
| VERANDAS WILLEMS | |
| 211 | DHAENE Brecht |
| 212 | VAN ZUMMEREN Stef |
| 213 | VERSTRAETEN Jari |
| 214 | DE BONDT Dries |
| 215 | DE TROYER Tim |
| 216 | KRUOPIS Aidis |
| 217 | GHYSELINCK Jan |
| 218 | PREMONT Christophe |
| SUPERANO HAM-ISOREX | |
| 221 | MANNAERTS Jelle |
| 222 | DONDERS Jelle |
| 223 | SUAREZ Kévin |
| 224 | LEIGH Andrew |
| 225 | BYRNE Dillon |
| 226 | VERWAEST Kevin |
| 227 | GARDEYN Gorik |
| 228 | TOUQUET Joren |
| 3M | |
| 231 | CAMMAERTS Edwig |
| 232 | DE VOS Gert-Jan |
| 233 | EVRARD Laurent |
| 234 | HAVIK Piotr |
| 235 | SLEURS Christophe |
| 236 | VAN DONGEN Ricardo |
| 237 | VINGERLING Michael |
| 238 | WILLEMS Kenny |
| AN POST-CHAINREACTION | |
| 241 | WATSON Calvin |
| 242 | VEREECKEN Nicolas |
| 243 | WASTYN Emiel |
| 244 | BOVENHUIS Jasper |
| 245 | WILSON Jack |
| 246 | MCCONVEY Connor |
| 247 | STANNUS Jordan |
| 248 | SCOTT Jacob |