"I was boxed in... No doubt that I had the legs to win today” - Disappointed Arnaud De Lie denied first Tour de France win on stage 8
Cycling
After his recent Belgian National Championship win, many in Belgium expected Arnaud De Lie to have little trouble tasting victory on his Tour de France debut. It's not quite gone to plan so far for the Lotto Dstny rider however, as was the case again on stage 8.
A punchy, uphill sprint to the line, De Lie entered the day one of the main favourites and most fancied riders. As such, his Lotto Dstny teammates could be seen working hard on the front of the peloton for much of the day. When it came to the actual sprint however, it was the Green Jersey wearing Biniam Girmay who took his second stage win of this Grand Tour ahead of Jasper Philipsen, with De Lie being forced to settle for 3rd place at the line.
“I couldn’t sprint,” a frustrated De Lie grumbled to the assembled press, including HLN, in his post-stage interview at the finish line. “I’m really frustrated. The team worked for me all day... I was boxed in and couldn’t do anything, just watch the sprint in front of me. I felt really strong. I have no doubt that I had the legs to win today.”
Any hopes De Lie would have had in the Green Jersey classification now also look slim to none. After his second stage win of the race, Biniam Girmay now sits comfortably atop the points classification standings with 216 points. De Lie, in 4th overall, has just 92 points to his name.
2024 Tour de France stage 8 results:
| 1 | GIRMAY Biniam | Intermarché-Wanty | 210 | 04:04:50 |
| 2 | PHILIPSEN Jasper | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 150 | + 00 |
| 3 | DE LIE Arnaud | Lotto Dstny | 110 | + 00 |
| 4 | ACKERMANN Pascal | Israel-Premier Tech | 90 | + 00 |
| 5 | VAN DEN BERG Marijn | EF Education-EasyPost | 70 | + 00 |
| 6 | GIBBONS Ryan | Lidl-Trek | 55 | + 00 |
| 7 | TURGIS Anthony | TotalEnergies | 45 | + 00 |
| 8 | WRIGHT Fred | Bahrain Victorious | 40 | + 00 |
| 9 | ARANBURU Alex | Movistar Team | 35 | + 00 |
| 10 | EVENEPOEL Remco | Soudal Quick-Step | 30 | + 00 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🇫🇷 #TDF2024 @Arnaud_De_Lie sprints to a third place in stage 8 @LeTour 🥉
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