Lotto Dstny was the most active team in the chase at Kuurne, but the front quintet was too strong to reel back in. “Everyone looked a bit at us in the chase, but my teammates did again an amazing job. That we were still with five guys part of the reduced bunch shows another solid collective performance today. Arjen Livyns, Brent Van Moer and Frederik Frison pulled a lot at the front and Florian Vermeersch made sure I could start the sprint in good position," he describes.
After counter-attacking and sprinting to second at
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, De Lie sprinted to seventh this Sunday. "Unfortunately, it wasn’t for the win but I end this opening weekend definitely with a good feeling. I took another step forward and there are some nice things to come with this shape," he concluded. The sky is the future for the Belgian, who now races Paris-Nice in antecipation to Milano-Sanremo where despite being his debut, he may be a prime favourite.