Cyclingflash
Meeus wins Le Samyn after Hagenes’ solo fails and bad luck for Van Aert

Meeus wins Le Samyn after Hagenes’ solo fails and bad luck for Van Aert

Jordi Meeus claimed victory at the Ename Samyn Classic. After attacker Per Strand Hagenes was caught in the final kilometer, the Belgian proved to be the fastest in the sprint. Wout van Aert was unable to contend after suffering a puncture in the finale. Meeus succeeds Mathieu van der Poel, who won the Walloon one-day race in 2025.

The route of the Ename Samyn Classic was significantly reworked compared to last year. There was no long approach route anymore, but instead racing immediately on circuits. First, two laps of 35 kilometers each, followed by five laps of 27.4 kilometers. The final circuit included five cobbled sections: Rue Chasse de la Motte (300 meters), Rue des Jonquilles (400 meters), Côte de la Roquette (600 meters), Côte des Nonnettes (300 meters), and Rue de Belle Vue (500 meters). The last two sections were located respectively 8 kilometers and 3 kilometers from the finish line.

Van Aert’s Comeback
Visma | Lease a Bike had the biggest favorite for victory in their ranks. Kuurne winner Matthew Brennan did not start, and Christophe Laporte pulled out due to a cold, but the Dutch team could count on Wout van Aert again. The Belgian had recovered from illness and was able to make his season debut slightly later than planned. Competition was expected from riders such as Gianni Vermeersch, Jordi Meeus, Lukas Kubis, and Kaden Groves.

After a fast opening hour, marked by a flurry of attacks, a breakaway of five eventually formed. The Dutch Stijn Appel (BEAT cc p/b Saxo) was joined by Cypriot Bogda Zabelinskiy (Aarco) and three Frenchmen: Baptiste Vadic (TotalEnergies), Kévin Avoine (Van Rysel-Roubaix), and Lucas Bénéteau (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93). Ed Uptegrove tried to bridge across on behalf of EEW-VDK Cyclingteam, but ended up in the chasse patate (fruitless chase).

Twelve Counters
The five escapees were given little leeway: their maximum lead was two minutes. The peloton kept up a steady pace, and around halfway through the race, some counterattacks emerged. Arnaud Tendon and — again — Uptegrove briefly rode ahead of the bunch, but only once they were reeled back in did a truly dangerous group form.

This group of twelve included Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Tomáš Kopecký (Unibet Rose Rockets), and two riders from Visma | Lease a Bike: Pietro Mattio and Per Strand Hagenes. They joined the initial five escapees 53 kilometers from the finish. The gap with the peloton then hovered around half a minute for a long time. Alpecin-Premier Tech and Soudal Quick-Step, who both had missed the move, led the chase.

Hagenes Goes Solo
Up front, cooperation was far from perfect, allowing the peloton to catch the leaders 30 kilometers from the finish. This was the signal for Hagenes to go solo. While his breakaway companions were reeled in by the peloton, the Norwegian pressed on alone. He built a nice lead, but the peloton never really slowed. Still, riders from Visma | Lease a Bike tried to neutralize the race.

Van Aert also tried to assist his teammate this way, but with 10 kilometers to go, the Belgian suffered a flat tire. He quickly switched to Mattio’s bike but by that time had already lost significant ground. He then changed bikes again to the spare bike on his team car. After that, it was impossible for him to catch back up to the rampaging peloton.

Will Hagenes Hold On?
Hagenes put up a brave solo effort against the chasers. He reached Rue de Belle Vue with less than ten seconds’ advantage and held firm on the cobbles. Entering the last two kilometers, he still had hope. Behind him, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe was leading the chase, but Hugo Page (Cofidis) managed to create a gap. The Frenchman went off in pursuit of Hagenes, who led at the start of the final kilometer. Just before the sprint began, however, the peloton caught him.

So, it came down to a sprint on the streets of Dour. And in that sprint, Jordi Meeus was unbeatable. The fast man from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe won comfortably ahead of Laurenz Rex and Hugo Hofstetter. Jenthe Biermans and Lukáš Kubiš completed the top five.