07/09/2023

Arnaud de Lie ponders over Tour de France debut in 2024 depending on sprint finishes - "I still lack pure speed"

Arnaud De Lie is a tremendously talented rider but is taking steps slowly. After a breakthrough 2022, this year he's racing a World Tour calendar and facing his biggest competitors, and in 2024 he'll take the next step which will be a Grand Tour debut. Which one however will depend on the routes.

"The intention is to ride my first Grand Tour next year. But there is no plan on the table yet. If there are only flat sprints in the Tour, I won't go there," De Lie shared in a conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "I have noticed that I still lack pure speed in my legs for such flat sprint finishes. But in a bunch sprint on a slightly sloping finish, like in the first week of the Vuelta, I can destroy everything."

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Lotto Dstny have been relegated to ProTeam but maintained the same level. With Caleb Ewan likely to leave at the end of this season after disputes with the team management, the Belgian's role will grow further. "I talk to Stéphane (Heulot, CEO Lotto-Dstny, ed.) a lot, he asks my opinion about everything. But I don't make many demands. I did insist on the arrival of Lionel Taminiaux."

At still 21 years of age the 'Bull' is already the most important figure in the team and the one who the team seeks to protect as much as possible. A recent renovation until 2026 was another sign of that mutual trust. De Lie is going to be racing the Canadian classics this weekend in another test of his abilities in the hilly classics, and he is very ambitious into 2024. "I really want to race for victory in the big classics from next year. I was close to it this year in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. I also want to win races at WorldTour level," he concludes.