Lotto reduces Arnaud De Lie's workload on his father's farm: "In his first professional year he worked up to 35 hours a week"

Arnaud De Lie's classics debut last year didn't go as planned, but that doesn't take away from the young Belgian's excitement as he retries to leave his mark at the cobbles.

"I'm really looking forward to the Flemish classics," De Lie said during a Lotto press day at the start of the season. Last year, something was missing for the Belgian to be in the mix for victory at biggest classics. That's the one thing he wants to change this spring: "I want to participate in the finals. That's my first goal."

"If I sprint for the win at Gent Wevelgem but I finish fourth, then I'll still be satisfied." The first big chance will come already this weekend: "Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is my big goal to really win, because I know from the last few years that I can win that race."

For this season, De Lie's way of working has changed a bit. He spent more time in Spain in the winter, no longer goes on altitude training, changed personal coaches and, not unimportantly, he works less on his father's farm. Personal coach Gaëtan Bille told Het Laatste Nieuws: "In his first professional year, that even went up to 35 hours a week."

That's not quite typical for a top professional. In a sense, it may have held back De Lie in his growth. "Can you see Mathieu van der Poel doing it? 'If you want to win major races, you actually have to be a rider 25 hours a day', I made clear to Arnaud. And that includes paying attention to things like core stability and recovery."

Still, Bille says that he and the team certainly do not want to forbid De Lie to work on the farm. Sometimes. "Arnaud seeks and finds his mental peace and distraction in other things. Milking the cows before dawn can't do any harm. The physical labor in particular was gradually reduced. He is very aware of the benefits."