Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 7:19 AM
Interview Ten years after Jens Debusschere, Lotto Dstny has lastly delivered one other Belgian highway champion. Arnaud De Lie was topped champion of his nation in Zottegem after a powerful show of group play. Not solely was there strain from Victor Campenaerts and Florian Vermeersch within the early breakaway, however there was additionally a textbook lead-out for the proficient Waal, who’s dealing with his very first Tour de France.
We heard a primal scream after the end line, when Arnaud De Lie had been topped Belgian champion. That was not random. There have been many feelings occurring within the younger Waal. “I assumed: ‘putain: I gained. It’s unbelievable.’ There are numerous the explanation why I obtained emotional. I noticed that I had lots of household and mates who had come to look at. The group had pushed a brilliant race, however above all: after the spring I had, there have been lots of feelings in my head. If you may get a kind of jerseys that each Belgian desires, meaning one thing.”
Fuses?
After a powerful Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, De Lie by no means reached his desired stage within the spring. After a dramatic Ghent-Wevelgem, he even determined to cease his spring and recuperate for some time, solely later it turned out that Lyme illness was the wrongdoer. “It was actually tough. You sacrifice lots, however you might be nonetheless very unhealthy. If I skilled for one hour, I felt as a lot ache as if I had run 300 kilometers in my legs. In my thoughts I virtually needed to cease being a bike owner. You assume: why am I doing this? Each bike owner has moments like that when it is rather tough. You could have household and the group that all the time stood behind me.”
“It’s simple to criticize somebody who’s less than normal resulting from circumstances,” provides teammate and buddy Lionel Taminiaux. “Arnaud was merely in poor health throughout that interval. Within the meantime, he has already gained a number of good races this season. That boy remains to be younger, we could not count on extra. He does what he has to do and he’s there when he needs to be there. If he’s bodily okay in fact, and that’s the case once more. This implies lots for Arnaud’s profession. He’ll profit from changing into Belgian champion all through his profession. It was ten years in the past for the group, which is sweet.”
De Lie additionally sees the constructive facet of that scenario. “Typically it is by means of these unhealthy moments that you just be taught probably the most. It was expertise for my future and for my profession. It could not have been the most effective time to be taught, however right here we’re three months later. It is usually because of that interval that I now have the jersey and am again the place I needs to be,” says De Lie.
Nonetheless, the group had each confidence in his skills. “I feel he had day, possibly not a terrific day,” Taminiaux stated. “He had lots of confidence, however profitable that dash in opposition to Tim Merlier, Jordi Meeus and Jasper Philipsen will not be that easy. These are sturdy males who win their races at WorldTour stage. On the finish of the day we are able to say that the ways have been excellent, however we owe that to Florian Vermeersch and Victor Campenaerts, who put strain from the main group.”
Stage win within the Tour
Within the upcoming Tour de France, De Lie may also encounter quick males like Jasper Philipsen. “That’s primarily about discovery,” says De Lie himself. “I wish to take part within the bunch sprints, to essentially compete for victory in a single or two levels that basically swimsuit me. I instantly consider the trip from Semur-en-Auxois to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises. That is a pleasant dash for me, why could not I present the jersey there? This needs to be potential with the help of the group. Cédric Beullens was vital and he may also be there within the Tour.”
De Lie does not dare take into consideration the inexperienced jersey. “That is tough in opposition to somebody like Jasper Philipsen. He’ll rating extra factors within the flat sprints. I do not actually have an actual purpose. Will probably be a voyage of discovery and I’ll take the whole lot daily. That Tour is already in my head. I’ll due to this fact benefit from the title, however not an excessive amount of, given the three tough weeks forward.”
