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"
Cycling
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."
Working 35 hours a week on father's farm
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."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 4visitors 4
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment