Arnaud De Lie extends contract with Lotto Dstny into 2026 - "The ambition is therefore to become competitive at the highest level in the future and win a big classic"

Arnaud De Lie is Lotto Dstny's big bet. The Belgian team have the very clear goal of keeping their main talent and new team leader happy, successfully it seems as the they have extended their partnership into 2026.

"Extending at Lotto Dstny was a logical choice for me. The team showed a lot of confidence in me from the beginning and it felt very good right away," De Lie said in a press release. "In addition, the project the management has proposed to me for the coming years is promising. The team goes into every detail and continues to invest in performance, to bring out the best in its riders. All these things made me happy to prolong."

The decision doesn't come as a surprise. Talks to renewing were already ongoing for a while, and with Caleb Ewan certain to leave the team at some point within this or the next season, the sprinter role will be completely filled by the 21-year old. De Lie is one of the most promising young riders in the current peloton, a very strong sprinter but also very promising classics rider. With 16 wins as a pro already, his focus on the domestic calendar in Belgium and around sees him as a dominant figure, but his second place at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was evidence that even outside of his comfort zone he can perform with the best.

"The fact that I will be racing with Lotto Dstny until 2026 gives me some peace of mind and also the time to improve step by step. This year I was already able to show myself several times in WorldTour races, which proves that I keep making progress," he adds. "The ambition is therefore to become competitive at the highest level in the future and win a big Classic. Which one that may be doesn't really matter to me. And whether I am more of a sprinter or a Classics’ rider? I am lucky to be good at both but my heart still lies a bit more with the Classics. Of course, that doesn't take away the fact that both things are possible to combine."