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"
Cycling
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.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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