“I would be completely broken mentally” - Victor Campenaerts’ viral Giro d’Italia gesture to struggling Arnaud De Lie questioned by experts

Arnaud de Lie’s difficult start to the 2026 Giro d’Italia has already produced one of the more uncomfortable subplots of the opening weekend, and a viral moment involving Victor Campenaerts has only added another layer to the discussion.

The Lotto-Intermarche sprinter arrived at the Giro weakened by illness and has already been forced into survival mode on terrain that, in better condition, might have offered him opportunities. On Stage 3, De Lie again found himself in difficulty on one of the climbs, prompting an unusual moment of support from Campenaerts.

Rather than a traditional sticky bottle from a team car, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider appeared to help De Lie rider-to-rider. De Lie first handed a bottle to Campenaerts, before Campenaerts later returned it, giving the struggling sprinter a small assist as he fought to remain in contention.

For some, it looked like a generous gesture between riders. For Eurosport analyst Bobbie Traksel, however, the moment carried a much harsher meaning.

“This was my moment of the day,” Traksel said on Eurosport’s Kop over Kop. “A sticky bottle. De Lie parked himself. First he gives the bottle to Campenaerts, then he gives it back. That was a really demotivating moment.”

Jip van den Bos tried to frame the incident more positively, describing it as “very sweet” and “a favour between friends”. Traksel was not convinced that he would have experienced it that way from inside the race. “I would be completely broken mentally,” he said.

The former pro then drew a clear distinction between being helped by a car and being helped in such a visible way by another rider. “If you get a sticky bottle from a car, you still think: ah, nice,” Traksel continued. “But if you get it from a rider, and from another team as well, then I would put my bike straight to the side. If you are that bad, why do you come to the Giro? You will not get through it like that.”

Those comments cut into a wider question around De Lie’s condition in the opening days of the Giro. He did not start the race at full strength, with illness already affecting his build-up, and the early stages have done little to ease him into the race.

Stage 2’s wet and crash-hit finale had already exposed how fragile the race has become for several riders. Stage 3 then added another difficult day for De Lie, who again had to manage his effort carefully rather than ride like one of the race’s leading sprint contenders.

Campenaerts’ gesture may have come from a place of sportsmanship, but the reaction around it shows how quickly sympathy can become scrutiny in a Grand Tour. In a race where weakness is rarely hidden for long, even a moment of help can become part of the wider judgement around a rider’s condition.

For De Lie, the immediate challenge is simple enough: get through the Giro’s early transfer to Italy, recover where possible, and hope his condition improves before more opportunities arrive. The debate around Campenaerts’ gesture, however, has already ensured that his difficult opening weekend will not pass unnoticed.