“He's back to his best” – How have Lotto and Arnaud de Lie turned their 2025 fortunes around?

Arnaud De Lie’s season has taken a dramatic upturn in the final stretch of 2025. After a spring where results were scarce and confidence seemed low, the young Lotto rider has rediscovered his form, winning both the Renewi Tour and the Bretagne Classic. Those victories have been crucial for Lotto as well, doubling their tally of wins in the space of a week. The revival has also raised the question of what exactly triggered the change.

Kurt van de Wouwer, Lotto’s sporting manager, believes the answer lies in both mindset and support. "We've known since his first races with the U23s that Arnaud is a thoroughbred. When everything is right physically and mentally, he's absolutely world-class. He's only confirming what we already knew. There have been some difficult moments, but he's back to his best now."

The pressure of carrying Lotto’s ambitions had weighed heavily on De Lie earlier in the year. "Arnaud said last week that a weight has been lifted from him. He knew he would have to carry the team this year, and that can become a burden if things don't quite work out the way you want. Arnaud makes no secret of the fact that it's crucial that everything is right in his head. That certainly wasn't the case in the spring, after which we worked well with him. It's up to us not to let him do things that will affect him mentally."

Van de Wouwer credited both the team and coach Kobe Goossens for handling the situation carefully. "Kobe is very mindful of Arnaud's needs. There may be many things that work well for other riders, but you have to let Arnaud do what suits him. You can be extremely scientific, but you're dealing with people, and you can't forget the human aspect. We, and especially Arnaud himself, have handled that well in recent months."

Signs of a turnaround first appeared during the Tour de France. "That reflects his class. Few riders are given the opportunity to start the Tour not at one hundred percent, but still develop during that race. He came through that race well, and that laid the foundation for his excellent autumn. In Hamburg, he gained even more confidence, and now his run is truly impressive," Van de Wouwer explained.

The broader picture for Lotto remains challenging, with the team falling short of past years in terms of wins and UCI points. "It wasn't just Arnaud. We've won fewer races overall this year, and we're also scoring fewer UCI points than in the past two years," Van de Wouwer admitted. "But the season doesn't end until October. The way we're going, there's still more to come. We're currently making up for our season, and we just want to take everything we can."

Amid ongoing talk of a merger with Intermarché–Wanty, Van de Wouwer has also urged focus. "Our riders shouldn't lose any sleep over it. We do our jobs, and those things need to remain separate. We're working hard, and the merger will happen. But not all the details are finalized yet, so we're first trying to finish the season as best as possible.”

Whatever the case for the rest of the season, De Lie will go into the winter more happy than he was in the spring, where his form was no where. Now, he was four wins to his name in 2025 (Etoile de Besseges, Renewi Tour stage 5 and GC, and the Bretagne Classic). He, and his fans, will be hoping he can maintain this form for the entirety of the 2026 season, and be at his best for the grand tours.