Le Samyn is an annual single-day road bicycle race in Belgium, held usually in late February or 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.^[1] Johan Capiot holds the record with three wins.^[2]

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Le Samyn

Race details
Date	February/March
Region	Hainaut, Belgium
Local name(s)	Le Samyn des Hommes (men) Le Samyn des Dames (women) (in French)
Nickname(s)	Le Samyn
Discipline	Road
Competition	Men: UCI Europe Tour Women: Lotto Cycling Cup
Type	Single-day
Web site	www.lesamyn.be
Men's history
First edition	1968 (1968)
Editions	56 (as of 2024)
First winner	José Samyn (FRA)
Most wins	Johan Capiot (BEL) (3 wins)
Most recent	Laurenz Rex (BEL)
Women's history
First edition	2012 (2012)
Editions	13 (as of 2024)
First winner	Adrie Visser (NED)
Most wins	Chantal Blaak (NED) (3 wins)
Most recent	Vittoria Guazzini (ITA)

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Since 2005, the race is included in the UCI Europe Tour as a 1.1 event.^[3] It is the first race of the season in Wallonia, held on the Tuesday 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.^[4]

The 2005 edition was cancelled because snow had made the roads too dangerous.^[5]

Since 2012, a women's edition of the race, named Le Samyn des Dames, is held on the same day as the men's race.^[6]