Date February/March Nickname(s) Le Samyn | Region Hainaut, Belgium Discipline Road | |
 | ||
Local name(s) Le Samyn des Pros (men)
Le Samyn des Dames (women)
(French) Competition Men: UCI Europe Tour
Women: Lotto Cycling Cup | ||
Le Samyn is an annual single-day road bicycle race in Belgium, held in early March. The event was created in 1968 as Grand Prix de Fayt-le-Franc, named after the former municipality where it started and finished. In 1970 it was renamed Grand Prix José Samyn as a tribute to José Samyn, the race's first winner who died in a race accident in 1969. Johan Capiot holds the record with three wins.
Since 2005, the race is included in the UCI Europe Tour as a 1.1 event. It is the first race of the season in Wallonia, held on the Wednesday after its Flemish counterpart, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The race is run entirely in the province of Hainaut, starting in Quaregnon and finishing in Dour. During the course, 16 sectors of cobbled roads are traversed, prompting Belgian media to call it The Little Paris–Roubaix.
The 2005 edition was cancelled because snow had made the roads too dangerous.
Since 2012, a women's edition of the race is held, named Le Samyn des Dames, on the same day as the men's race.
Women's race
Source