The Rise of Arnaud De Lie: A Leader’s Pressure and Promise in the Tour de France 2024

The Lotto Dstny media day, this Friday, was a good barometer of the popularity of the Taureau de Lescheret, who without flinching continued interviews in French, Dutch and English throughout the afternoon, while some of his teammates were little or no demand at all. No doubt: “De Lie Mania” is there. In Belgium and abroad. But it also creates expectations, which will have to be managed for this farmer’s son who nothing seems to disturb.

“We have the impression that he is wearing a k-way on which all forms of pressure slip, smiles Stéphane Heulot, the CEO of Lotto Dstny. But we must not hide it: Arnaud is under pressure. She is justified by her status. When you win ten races a year in each of your first two professional seasons, including a World Tour race, it’s a logical responsibility. But I have no fear about that.”

Arnaud De Lie will participate in the 2024 Tour de France

No one doubts him anymore: “He gives everyone the impetus”

His teammates don’t seem to have any fear either. It must be said that the evolution of the Ardennes is astonishing. “Before, the whole team perhaps did not have confidence in its ability to win in a race like the Nieuwsblad, for example,” admits Victor Campenaerts. But now those doubts no longer exist.”

“You shouldn’t think that he will score all the points either,” tempers the experienced Thomas De Gendt. Whoever is playing his last professional season is right. De Lie’s progress must go hand in hand with that of the team. But for that, Heulot is not worried. “Arnaud is a charismatic leader, capable of bringing people together. It gives everyone an impetus that allows them to find that little extra percent that makes the difference. His motivation for each race in which he participates, whatever the level, is an example.”

Just like his good nature, very appreciated within the Belgian squad. “He is spontaneous, enthusiastic and he laughs all the time. It’s great to have a leader like him, who never seems to stress,” several of his teammates repeated.

Life in the shadow of De Lie: “A bit like van Aert and Laporte”

We understand it well: the leadership embodied by De Lie is a blessing for Lotto Dstny. But be careful not to have a harmful effect on other promising runners, who do not only want to live in the shadow of the Bull of Lescheret. We think of Florian Versmeersch (24 years old) or Maxime Van Gils (24 years old), who also have personal ambitions.

“But I think we are complementary, a bit like Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte at Visma,” specifies the first. “All the attention there is around De Lie is a bit like when Cristiano Ronaldo played at Real Madrid: he took up a lot of space but that didn’t stop players like Karim Benzema from shining around him. him”, dares, for his part, Maxime Van Gils in a metaphor which should please his teammate.

2024-01-06 06:26:52
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