Arnaud De Lie targets spring classics in 2026 but skips one major race

Arnaud De Lie knows his program for 2026. The leader of the merged team Lotto-Intermarché is focusing again this year on the spring classics, although notably, he is skipping Milan-San Remo. In the summer, the Tour de France—just like in previous seasons—is his main target.

We still have to wait a bit for De Lie’s season debut: the Walloon powerhouse sprinter/classics specialist will don a race number again in the Clásica de Almeria (15 February) in one month.

After his season opener on Spanish soil, De Lie heads to neighboring Portugal for the Volta ao Algarve (18-22 February), where he will continue preparing for the Flemish Opening Weekend, featuring Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

No Milan-San Remo, but a double Vlaanderen-Roubaix
Following the first two Flemish spring races, he will participate in Tirreno-Adriatico. However, this won’t lead to Milan-San Remo for De Lie, as the first monument classic of the season is absent from his schedule. Instead, De Lie targets the Tour of Flanders, In Flanders Fields (the new name for Gent-Wevelgem), the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and Paris-Roubaix.

After the 'Hell of the North,' De Lie’s spring campaign will be over, and after a short rest period, he will prepare for the 113th edition of the Tour de France (4-26 July).