Quiet around Arnaud De Lie? That’s not a bad sign: Lotto leader faces crucial weekend

No Milan-San Remo, no Tour of Bruges and no E3 Saxo Classic. It’s a long wait before we see Arnaud De Lie back in action at the highest level, following a promising Tirreno-Adriatico. What’s going on with the talented Walloon from Lotto-Intermarché? The classics team director, Pieter Vanspeybrouck, sheds light for our microphone.

The only benchmark De Lie has from the past two weeks is the GP de Denain, where he suffered three (!) punctures within twenty kilometers. Race over. And very little data to draw conclusions from. “That seemed like the ideal approach. Milan-San Remo was unrealistic with Pogacar and Van der Poel at the start,” Vanspeybrouck explains on the atypical choice for the French race.

Ankle injury
It’s not the first time De Lie has had bad luck. Over the past years, he has often been sidelined at crucial moments. “I wouldn’t dramatize it either. It’s part of racing and sometimes you just miss out. But if you saw him ride in Tirreno-Adriatico, he was able to hold his position well heading into the sprint. That shows he’s in good form and he feels good too. He really suffered up the climbs there.”

In Italy, De Lie took second after Tobias Lund in a bunch sprint. That was the confirmation he and Lotto-Intermarché needed, even if it was ‘just’ in a sprint. “His preparation was obviously not ideal,” he refers to the ankle injury that forced De Lie to postpone his season start. “Then you want to find some confirmation somewhere. We know he still has the margin to take the next step.”

“That’s also the main reason why he hasn’t raced much since Tirreno-Adriatico,” the team director explains. “He was then able to put in a solid training block towards the coming weeks. The fact that it seems quiet around him is not a bad sign. From what I hear from everyone close to him, he’s on schedule. I certainly wouldn’t panic because the results aren’t there yet. The races that suit him best still have to come.”

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields, or Gent-Wevelgem, is perhaps the most important. “That’s a big goal and a race that suits him,” says Vanspeybrouck. “It’s much less uphill than the Tour of Flanders. We also know it will be tough if the lightweights dominate the Tour of Flanders. But last autumn he proved he definitely has a place on that kind of terrain.”

De Lie doesn’t have many good memories of Gent-Wevelgem. Two years ago he was dropped early in the echelons, and last year he abandoned early. The race marked the end of his spring campaign each time. “Now it looks different. If all goes well and he hits his top form, we hope to contest the sprint for the podium and maybe the win. He has the abilities and is the kind of rider who can get close to the top on a good day.”

Still, Vanspeybrouck doesn’t want to put all the eggs in the Walloon’s basket. “Jenno Berckmoes is our second leader. He was strong at Milan-San Remo and already eighth in Gent-Wevelgem last year. If they both make the finale, he will support Arnaud. We shouldn’t be afraid to put our foot beside the top teams in those kinds of races. We may be underdogs, but we really have strong riders.”