"He's playful on the bike, a bit like Sagan was in his young days" - Arnaud De Lie's teammates compare him to another similar-level superstar

Despite his focus on the Tour of Oman, Thomas De Gendt has a keen interest in following the advancements of Arnaud De Lie, who has already won three races this year.

De Gendt sees a similarity between the young Belgian and Peter Sagan in his earliest days. "He's playful on the bike, a bit like Sagan was in his young days. So he still has some margin to improve, but for now, it's still all playing and having fun attacking even when he doesn't have to, and that's nice to see," De Gendt told Cyclingnews.

He further added, “I remember when Sagan was with Cannondale and Liquigas, he won a stage in Paris-Nice by attacking with more than three kilometres to go because even if he was the fastest, he attacked like that just because he could. It's nice that Arnaud still has that sense of fun."

He is astounded by De Lie's innovative approach towards experienced riders and how he is able to make it work in his favour. "It's good he's winning in the smaller races, but that stage he took against Pederson and the way he won afterwards was really exceptional. A good sprinter can win ten bunch sprints a year if they are normal ones, but to be able to do something like De Lie in these hard ones - that's very different.”

The future holds great things for De Lie, and this cannot be disputed, according to De Gendt. "He's set himself up to be a really good rider in the future, probably one of the big stars,” concluded De Gendt.