Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) won a wet and windswept edition of Le Samyn after he overpowered Alex Kirsch (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect) in a two-up sprint at the finish in Dour, while Iljo Keisse (Quick-Step Floors) claimed the sprint for third.
Van Keirsbulck and Kirsch were the last men standing on the final lap, by which point Le Samyn had switched from bike race to slugging match, with the two leaders trading blows on the front even as the chasing group moved to within touching distance.
The final sprint played out almost in slow motion, as both men struggled to keep their gears turning on the uphill drag to the line. Kirsch, so impressive in the finale, opened a small gap, but Van Keirsbulck was not to be denied, and he bludgeoned his way past to claim the win.
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As he sat behind the podium afterwards, face muddied and eyes haunted, a tired Van Keirsbulck could scarcely summon the concentration to listen to questions in the flash television interview. "It was a hard race but I survived," he said.
Van Keirsbulck has dropped down to Pro Continental level this season after Quick-Step seemingly grew tired of waiting for him to deliver on his considerable potential, and he carried himself on Wednesday with the air of a man eager to prove a point. As ever, the action was distilled across four laps of the 25-kilometre finishing circuit, and scarcely a move went clear without Van Keirsbulck playing a prominent role.
The first major splits in the peloton occurred on the second lap of the circuit, after early escapees Erwann Corbel, Kenneth Van Rooy, Gordon De Winter, Kevin Van Melsen and Joeri Stallaert had been brought to heel. The 25-kilometre circuit features four cobbled sectors, each more treacherous than the next in the day’s muddy conditions, while a long, exposed crosswind section made for an even more rigorous selection process on each lap.
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