Arnaud De Lie gives up racing Milano-Sanremo this year: "If I go to Italy to ride 300 kilometers while I'm not fit, I know I won't be able to do anything there

We have witnessed quite bizarre final of the race at today's Grand Prix de Denain. The last two escapees seemed destined to be caught by strong group of favourites that included Arnaud De Lie, until the cycling gods turned the tide of events as the race approached final cobbled sector. The Lotto Dstny rider, coming off difficult Paris-Nice, seemed to be back on the right track to his best self.

The bad luck just keeps piling up for Arnaud De Lie. The Lotto Dstny rider left Paris-Nice last week after just three days and decided to forfeit Milan-Sanremo. "A difficult, but the right choice. If I go to Italy to ride 300 kilometers while I'm not fit, I know I won't be able to do anything there," he explained the decision to HLN.

The strong men found each other in the chase, with Küng, Molano and De Lie as the biggest engines. The escapees seemed to be struggling on the last cobblestone section, until Küng suddenly slid away and knocked over almost everyone. Also De Lie. "It's super dangerous there every year. Stefan Küng fell first, but it is certainly not his fault."

The victory was gone. Early escapee Jannik Steimle took advantage and beat his fellow escapee Desal in the sprint. De Lie - completely covered in mud - got back on his bike quite quickly and lost the sprint for third place to Dries Van Gestel. "I don't know if I could have won without that fall. I'm just happy with my fourth place, although the feeling is not 100% yet. I was in the final. That's a nice feeling after a difficult Paris-Nice."