Arnaud De Lie on quick rise to stardom: "I never thought I would do what I did this year already"

Arnaud De Lie has been under the spotlight this season, currently being the key for Lotto Soudal's World Tour maintenance battle, and within a shot of being the Belgian team's single most important rider of the season, above leaders such as Caleb Ewan and Tim Wellens.

"My dream races are Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders," De Lie said in an interview with CyclingWeekly. The 20-year old is a neo-pro and one of the most successful riders of the season so far, with six wins to his name, not only in sprints, and having beaten some of the best fast men in the World.

"It is a dream for sure. I never thought I would do what I did this year already... As a young rider I won already a lot, but every victory is different. Every victory motivates me even more," he said.

Lotto Soudal knew the quality of the Belgian rider but few would've expected such a big leap in such short notice. “This year I discover my limits... This year and the next years are all about building experience to become a factor in the bigger races," he said, aware that he has much to learn. Nevertheless this lack of experience hasn't prevented him from riding at the very best level, and it is a very promising sign for the future.

"There is now room to make errors because I am only 20 years old. Every race offers great opportunities to learn. I do that with great joy because there is always next year to take these experiences with me and race again," he added.

This week he will be testing himself against some of the best in the world in the sprints of the Baloise Belgium Tour. He will face Fabio Jakobsen for example, a challenge De Lie is looking forward to: “I have raced against Jakobsen but not won. I did beat Tim Merlier and Cavendish but Fabio is one of the fastest in the peloton. I look forward to doing a real bunch sprint against him."

Having taken the largest amount of points for Lotto Soudal this season, which is giving the Belgian team a chance of staying at World Tour level, many have hinted that De Lie would be an option for the Tour de France. "I don’t see myself taking his place in the Tour de France team just yet. I am still only 20 years and will be 21 during next year’s Tour. It’s still a bit too early," he says regarding that idea.

“You need to be mentally and physically ready for the Tour. People outside the sport know only the Tour de France but there is the Giro too. I would like to do that first. For the Tour de France you need to be 100% ready. And I am not, yet," he concluded.