Samyn was born in Quiévrain, Belgium to a Belgian mother and French father, he took French nationality in 1964 . As an amateur, he won the 1965 French Military Cycling Championship.
Samyn, with roots in Quiévrain, Belgium, where his mother was Belgian and his father was French, obtained French citizenship in 1964. As a self-taught cyclist, he won the 1965 French Military Cycling Championship.