Arnaud De Lie takes another blow from an illness on the eve of Boucles de la Mayenne

It's been more than two months now since the Belgian champion could put on a smile after having finished a race. At the end of March, Arnaud De Lie took some time away from competition to rebuild for summer. But his comeback at Rund um Kolm didn't go as planned.

The next destination should've been the Boucles de la Mayenne. Past tense because the French stage race was scrapped from the 23-year-old's schedule at late notice. The reason appears to be an illness that emerged at the Belgian on the Wednesday morning. De Lie was replaced in the Lotto selection for Boucles de la Mayenne by cyclocrosser Victor Van de Putte.

"Arnaud is returning home," his team Lotto reports. "He will now rest for a few days and then resume training at home."  

The rest of the Belgian champion's program remains the same for now, his team adds. De Lie will thus participate in the Brussels Cycling Classic next Sunday and then ride the Tour de Suisse as a preparation race for the anticipated return to Tour de France.