"I hear all sorts of things about this disease" - Might Lyme's still be holding Arnaud de Lie back?
Cycling
Arnaud de Lie is one of the most talented classics riders in the peloton, but a rider who often suffers from inconsistencies, injuries and illnesses. The latter, specially, hampered him in 2026 - a year where he's struggled deeply, and is looking to put it behind him.
In 2024, De Lie was diagnosed with Lyme's disease, which may have come with plenty short and medium-term consequences. It is a complex issue that affected the Lotto-Intermarché rider's health.
"I hear all sorts of things about this disease. There are plenty of specialists, but few who really specialize in it. Today, I honestly don't know whether my body is still dealing with side effects," the Belgian shared with La Dernière Heure.
"I'm convinced that if I can put these setbacks behind me, I can achieve great results again. But my health is my number one priority."
Over the years De Lie has continued to show his talent, but has always seemingly struggled to put in a full consistent year on the bike.
Arnaud de Lie abandoned the Tour de France only a few days in
Disappointing 2026 for De Lie
In late 2025, De Lie won the Bretagne Classic and beat Mathieu van der Poel to conquer the Renewi Tour. It seemed like there was firm ground heading into 2026, but before the season even began he suffered an ankle injury.
His spring was crowded with modest performances, and at his first race win of the year, he contracted an illness from the Lotto Famenne Ardenne Classic. He flew to Bulgaria for the start of the Giro d'Italia and abandoned on stage 4.
His return to racing at the Tour de Wallonie was met with a stage win and third place overall. It seemed like he could aim for the Tour de France at his top level once again, but that was not the case.
He got ill once again at the Grand Depart, and abandoned during the third stage of the race. He also cited fatigue going into the Tour. "I think I tried to come back too quickly. I had trained too hard, and it ended up working against me. It's never good to chase lost time."
Right now, the 24-year old is motivated once again: "I'm doing very well. It's a continuation of how I felt towards the end of the season, when I was feeling at my best, even though I didn't manage to add another victory".
De Lie joining Tudor this winter
Despite missing out on the race days that were planned for his Grand Tour schedule, De Lie still raced 48 days in 2026. Over the fall he has signed a contract with Tudor Pro Cycling Team that will run all the way into 2030.
"They say the grass isn't greener on the other side. I believe what matters is how you nurture it. I feel the need to chase new challenge," he assures. After turning pro in 2022 with Lotto, where he was always a sole leader, he leaves the World Tour for a new environment.
Read also
"I was immediately attracted by the long-term vision of Tudor's management. I also felt they had complete confidence in me." The Swiss team aims to enter the World Tour following the end of the 2028 season, and De Lie can play a major role in that move.
He joins the likes of Kaden Groves and Nico Denz who enter the team, to form a stronger block for the sprints and clasics. "What I like about the Swiss is that they don't beat around the bush when they explain something. They're direct," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- A very true statement made by Johan Bruyneel: "We don’t know for sure about Jonas, because he dropped out of the Tour de France, but he would never have come close to Pogacar. Maybe he would have finished second. He won the Giro in dominant fashion and the Vuelta the year before, but Visma wants to win the Tour." That's exactly what I've been saying the last six months. If Pogi races with Jonas, the most he can be is second... UNLESS... Pogi crashes out or makes a BIG mistake, which is not likely to happen. Either Bruyneel thinks the way I do or he reads my posts. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- TADEJ POGAČAR !!! "Anatomy of a G.O.A.T." OK, that's great!!! I've been saying all along: Tadej Pogačar-Pogi is the G.O.A.T... period. Not only in cycling... but he's the greatest sportsman that ever lived !!! But let's take a look of what real foolishness looks like: We have many many fools, also on this site, saying that Pogi is "boring,"... he's making cycling "boring"??? I can't believe what's comming out of their deteriorating smelly mouths. So I guess Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, Fasto Coppi and Anquetil were also boring!?!? I guess Michael Jordan, Le Bron, Gretzky, Messi, Ronaldo, Shumacher, Novak Džoković, Federer, Rossi, Marquez, Phelps, Michaela Shiffrin, Venus Williams, Bolt, Lewis Hamilton... etc. were all boring. PS: Many cycling "fans" that think that way, have to get a brain scan. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- Ayuso has had enough time. He's always going to be a mediocre to good cyclist... nothing special or astonishing. But he does have many excuses, just like Remco, but Remco delivers good wins on occasions, Ayuso doesn't. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- I agree, Johan Bruyneel made big mistakes, he was involved in the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports... BUT NEVERTHELESS... Bruyneels analysis on bike racing and cyclists is among the best. That's a fact... period!!! I love listening to Spencer Martin and Johan on WEDU-THE MOVE PODCAST, but I don't care about Armstrong and Hincapie. They are both american bull shi***s who like to exaggerate and talk nonsense.PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- the headline is poorly written too. it makes it sound like their plan is to simply wait until he stops.mij13-11-2026
- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment