“I feel the love for the bike again” – Resurgent Arnaud De Lie digs deep to take Renewi Tour lead despite Van der Poel's stage win

Arnaud De Lie may have missed out on the stage victory in Geraardsbergen, but the Lotto rider left stage 3 of the Renewi Tour with more than just battered legs — he now leads the general classification by one second over Mathieu van der Poel, and, more importantly, he’s rediscovered the love for the bike.

Friday’s brutal stage was always going to be decisive. Multiple ascents of both De Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg promised fireworks, and Van der Poel wasted little time in lighting the fuse. But for all of the Dutchman’s aggression, De Lie more than held his own — even if it meant riding on the absolute limit. “I was completely à bloc for a long time,” De Lie admitted post-stage in conversation with Sporza. “Riding with Mathieu and Tim Wellens is tough, but I gave it everything.”

On the final ascent of the Muur, it was Tim Wellens who opened up the action, only for Van der Poel to jump past and force the selection. Belgian champion Wellens couldn’t follow, but De Lie — visibly suffering — clawed his way across to the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader. It wasn’t comfortable, and on the Bosberg moments later, he lost contact again. But as Van der Poel pressed on, it was Wellens who helped De Lie limit the damage and bring things back together.

Despite the deep effort, De Lie remained in contention all the way to the finish on De Vesten, where he launched his sprint early, knowing that waiting too long would hand Van der Poel the upper hand. It was the right move — but not quite enough. “Beating Mathieu on this kind of finish isn’t easy,” De Lie said with a smile. “I came up just a little short. If we did that sprint thirty times, I think the result would be the same in twenty-eight of them.”

While the win slipped through his fingers, De Lie could take plenty from his ride — not least the yellow leader’s jersey. With his consistent sprinting, including a second-place on stage 1, the 22-year-old now leads Van der Poel by one second in the general classification, with two testing stages to come.

But it wasn’t just the GC lead that mattered. After having a disappointing spring campaign that was marred by poor form and inconsistency, De Lie is finally feeling like himself again. “I’m happy with how I’m feeling. My mindset is good — and most importantly, I feel the love for the bike again.”

De Lie will need every bit of that renewed form and confidence to hold off Van der Poel this weekend. Saturday’s stage is packed with climbs and finishes uphill, while Sunday’s finale around Leuven echoes the course of the 2021 World Championships — terrain tailor-made for the Dutchman. But De Lie isn’t backing down. In this kind of shape, and with his racecraft sharpening, the Belgian isn’t just here to survive — he’s here to contend.