"With Van der Poel at the start there will be even more spectacle. He already participated four years ago, but broke his handlebars. So he still has a score to settle here," Lienart previews, looking excitedly towards a potential battle between Van der Poel,
Arnaud De Lie and
Paul Magnier. "A royal sprint between those 3 champions would be formidable. But I won't make a prediction, because then the opposite usually happens."
And as mentioned, the confirmation of the Dutchman starting has boosted Le Samyn massively. "De Lie would have brought many fans anyway. Magnier will attract many French people across the border. Van der Poel will make it all worse. Because everyone loves him: the Belgians, the French and the Dutch," the race organiser concludes. "The road is already chock-full of campers from Belgium and the Netherlands. It's going to be a great day."