ProTeam Campenaerts shows fine form again with sixth place at Le Samyn

After finishing 5^th at Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Victor Campenaerts again showed his good shape at Le Samyn, the season’s opener of the Walloon races. The Lotto Soudal rider was part of an eight-man move which narrowly hold off the peloton. Despite endless attacks, the eight riders sticked together and fought for victory in a sprint won by Italian Matteo Trentin. Victor Campenaerts had to settle for sixth place.

“A sixth place at Le Samyn is obviously not what we came for”, said Victor Campenaerts. “But Le Samyn never disappoints. I think we rode an attractive race with the team and we made it pleasant to watch for the fans. In the end, it became a long final, but being part of the breakaway that made it to the finish, I gave my all to obtain the highest possible result. I was suffering a bit from pain in the ribs after crashing at the Omloop, but I think it’s safe to say Matteo Trentin was the strongest rider today.”

A few days after the Opening Weekend, Le Samyn was traditionally the season’s opener of races on Walloon roads. With over 200 kilometres of racing between Quaregnon and Dour, full of hills and cobbles, the riders were immediately faced with a tough day out.

Lotto Soudal sent a strong selection to Le Samyn and tried to play it out. When the bunch entered the local laps in Dour, Lotto Soudal got involved in the attacks, which eventually resulted in a large front group forming at about 40 kilometres from the finish, including four Lotto Soudal riders. Going into the final, the breakaway was further reduced to eight riders, where Victor Campenaerts defended the Lotto Soudal colours. In the closing kilometres attacks were flying as the leading group played with fire due to the fast approaching peloton behind. But in the end, the eight riders sprinted for victory, with Italian Trentin coming out on top. Campenaerts came in sixth while Arnaud De Lie finished second in the bunch sprint and completed the top ten.

“I’m really happy to start the races in Wallonia like this”, says Arnaud De Lie. “We delivered another solid team performance today and personally, I almost won the bunch sprint. An icon like Philippe Gilbert doing the lead-out for me gave me goosebumps. A little earlier in the race, I was part of a sizeable front group which formed on one of the cobbled sections. With four Lotto Soudal riders, it was a good situation but unfortunately there wasn’t the best understanding within the group so it split again. I then focused on the peloton sprint at the end to obtain a nice result, which succeeded.”

Images: Photo News.