“It’s a work in progress” – Lotto urge patience after Arnaud De Lie fades early at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne

Arnaud De Lie’s name was missing from the decisive phase of Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, and for a rider billed as one of the major sprint threats of Opening Weekend, that absence raised eyebrows.

Inside the Lotto-Intermarche camp, however, there is no sense of alarm. “It’s a work in progress,” sports director Aike Visbeek said afterwards in quotes collected by HLN. “We knew that before we started the spring.”

De Lie was distanced in the hill zone, despite arriving at the start with confidence.

“He felt super before the race,” Visbeek explained. “In the team meeting, the plan was to push hard in the hills so it would become a sprint for riders like Brennan and Arnaud. In the end, he cracked there. We had Steffen De Schuyteneer as a second option, and we played that card afterwards.”

The fade came on a day shaped by pressure in the hills and crosswinds that repeatedly split the field. For Lotto, the script had been clear: increase the pace in the decisive terrain to reduce the sprint field and give De Lie a manageable finale.

Instead, the Belgian was among those who slipped out of contention as the race intensified.

Visbeek suggested the explanation may lie as much in Saturday at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as Sunday. “This could be a reaction from yesterday. He went deep then. It’s also a matter of race hardness that he’s still missing at the moment.”

That race hardness is central to the broader picture. De Lie spent the off-season working his way back from an ankle injury, and his build-up to the spring was described internally as tight.

“It was a race against time to get him ready, and that seems to have worked,” Visbeek said. “We’re not worried. You also have to look at the full picture. We have a strong team, Arnaud is focused and motivated. We rode a solid Opening Weekend, but in the end we’re left empty-handed.”

Rather than viewing Kuurne as a setback, Lotto see it as part of a progression. “De Lie definitely still needs next weekend to continue building towards Tirreno-Adriatico,” Visbeek added.

For now, the emphasis remains on development rather than immediate results. Kuurne may not have delivered the sprint opportunity Lotto envisaged, but internally the focus is on conditioning, continuity and patience.

If this spring is indeed a work in progress, Lotto are determined not to judge it too early.