30/12/2022

Arnaud De Lie keen on breaking 'pure sprinter' image: "What rider will I become if my only goal is to stay on the wheels and not move until the sprint"

Arnaud De Lie is only 20 years old but has been by far Lotto Soudal's main star of the year, and the rider who kept the team's World Tour hopes alive, despite being in his neo-pro season. He is much more than just a sprinter however, he argued in a recent interview.

De Lie has been termed by some as the upcoming pure sprinter. "I don't like people saying that about me," he told L'Équipe however. "I like when the race is tiring: 120 kilometers without attacking, it's boring. I ride my bike to have fun, so if I can show myself before."

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"What rider will I become if my only goal is to stay on the wheels and not move until the sprint? Sport must remain fun. You have to have fun, even if it doesn't work out," the Belgian continued.

He's shown this year a lot of quality in the hilly terrain, and has put forward an incredible amount of talent outside of the sprints where he thrived. He's had several results to show for in the season, however the highlights were a fourth place in the World Tour Bretagne Classic, and the victory at the Bretagne Classic where he outsprinted a small group that attacked over the climbs including Tom Dumoulin.

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"At the end of the season, I stopped winning and everyone wondered why but me, I was not worried, I felt that I was walking super strong. I was putting cartridges up front, I was doing the race with the best, I even passed the bumps without retreating. I felt really strong. In one year, I passed a big plateau."

De Lie will not be in the World Tour in 2023 however that will not hamper his chances of showing himself. He should not be present in any Grand Tour by option of the team, but is set to start Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, two races he could become a big contender for in the future. Furthermore, the Belgian team has received automatic World Tour race wildcards for the entire season which they can use.