Lotto DS calms excitement around Arnaud De Lie's comeback: "Don't expect miracles"

Arnaud De Lie's last start in spring was at the Gent-Wevelgem (March 30), where the 23-year-old abandoned as the race didn't turn out as the Belgian would've hoped. Lotto allowed their star to lean back a little bit after the failed spring and reset before the objectives later in the season. And now the time has come for the Belgian champion to put on his racing suit and get stuck in at the Rund um Köln this Sunday.

"We said at the time that we would only bring Arnaud into competition when he was ready. Well, he will start in Cologne on Sunday. Data and his values ​​in training show that," says sports manager Kurt Van de Wouwer at Sporza.

Yet we shouldn't expect immediate victory from De Lie after seven weeks without any races. "Don't expect miracles when he returns. Arnaud still lacks a lot of race rhythm. We will give him time to build up further." The real goals will come later in summer with the Belgian Championships and later also the Tour de France.

Next to De Lie, there is a perhaps even more interesting name on the Lotto lineup for the Rund um Köln. We're talking about none other than the cyclocross star Toon Aerts whose career came to a halt in 2022 when an adverse doping finding resulted in a two-year ban. As a part of regaining race rhythm as Aerts' ban run out last February, the 31-year-old took on several races and the performances were pretty good.

In fact so good, that thanks to a parternship between Aerts' cyclocross team Deschacht Hens Maes and Lotto, he landed a contract with the PRT team and will represent the Belgian formation on road this summer.

"I think Toon is very eager to make his debut in our shirt. I also expect him to be there quite quickly," says Van de Wouwer. "Toon can develop further as a rider through this new road campaign. Both parties will benefit from it."