Ankle injury threatens to delay Arnaud de Lie's season start - "I have already started rehabilitation"

Whilst new year is for most an opportunity to show off their new racing colours, or even - in Visma's case - make a winter signing official, it can for others be a complicated time. Arnaud de Lie for example is set to start his season in three weeks, but is now dealing with a lingering injury.

The Belgian rider didn't make it clear how this happened, but he is currently suffering from ankle injury. "There is significant ligament damage, but the situation is clear and is being addressed," he shared in an Instagram story.  "I have already started rehabilitation. Step by step". 

On paper, the 23-year old is supposed to start his season off on the 24th of January at the GP Castellón, and would follow this up with the Clàssics Comunitat Valenciana the next day and then the Etoile de Bessèges as usual in early February. However that plan is now jeopardized as the injury may not only take him off the bike for a while, but substantially delay his preparation for the 2026 season.

This year De Lie will be racing in the colours of the 'new' Lotto-Intermarché team, which will be presented on the 12th of January in Belgium. This past year, he began his season with a triumph at Etoile de Bessèges, but has a rather absent spring afterwards in terms of results. He participated in the Tour de France where he obtained a few solid results in the sprints, but it was afterwards that he was really able to achieve his dose of success for the year.

He was second at the Hamburg Cyclassics, only behind breakaway surprise Rory Townsend; he won the Renewi Tour ahead of Mathieu van der Poel, also winning the final stage; he sprinted to victory at the Bretagne Classic, GP de Wallonie, Super 8 Classic and also Paris-Chauny, cementing him as one of the leading figures in the explosive one-day races.