Arnaud De Lie excited about the signing of Elia Viviani: "He could be the piece that was still missing from our mosaic"
Cycling
Arnaud De Lie's big breakthrough should've come last spring, but some bad luck with crashes forced the Belgian champion to sit out the most important classics. This allowed him to prepare for a solid Tour de France debut and now it's time to return to the initial goal; to ride for top result of Flemish Classics.
But that doesn't mean De Lie will give up on sprints in 2025 with plans to return to finally win a stage at the Grande Boucle. And that's where the newest Lotto recruit; Elia Viviani could come into play. The late addition of the 36-year-old Italian sprinter is a significant boost for Lotto's already strong sprint lineup.
"As a team, we have a very young core," De Lie mentions the high amount of young riders currently at Lotto in a response to DHnet. 15 riders on the 2025 roster are still yet to turn 25. This is a testament to Lotto's commitment to grow youth talent, but such low average age means that there is lack of riders who can pass down experience in key moments.
De Lie believes the signing of Viviani might bring exactly what the team was missing to be competitive at the biggest races. Especially in bunch sprint finishes. "Elia has a lot of experience in the most important races and has also won several. He could be the piece that was still missing from our mosaic."
The young Belgian had a first meeting with the experienced Italian and his overall impression from this encounter seems to be positive. "I have already spoken with Elia, he is a guy who has great passion and will certainly be able to bring something important to our team," De Lie evaluates.
Whether we will see the two sprinters from different generations build a fearsome sprint train? Probably no. De Lie expects that Viviani will take up the role of Lotto's second sprinter and fight for top placings in the races which De Lie already outgrew. "Our director, Stéphane Heulot, had spoken to me about the possibility of this transfer and I think that Viviani will be able to play his cards with us, in the races in which I will not be present."
At the moment, there is no information about when should Viviani debut in the new colours, but it shouldn't take long with the amount of attractive one-day races on the schedule for coming weeks.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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