"That I can beat Mathieu van der Poel is fantastic. Not many people get that" - Arnaud de Lie

Arnaud de Lie is a rider of immense talent, half sprinter half classics specialist. But in a world with generational classics riders such as Mathieu van der Poel, the Lotto rider doesn't get to win much at the highest level. Today he did, beating the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider both for the stage and overall win after an incredibly tight battle.

"It might not have been my best day of this Renewi Tour. But sometimes it's better to keep going. You try with the legs you have. I tried to save those legs for the sprint. It was a bit of a gamble, but in the end I played well," De Lie said in a post-race interview. "I can't describe what happened today. I'm just incredibly happy. After a tough spring, winning a WorldTour classification here, plus a stage, is simply a dream."

The Belgian entered the final day of the race in the lead but in the green kilometer lost this to an explosive van der Poel that went on to capture bonus seconds. This turned the race on it's head with minutes to it's end, and van der Poel was so strong that De Lie on several occasions missed the attacks that soared off the front.

"My position on the Wijnpers wasn't great. My legs were good, but not good enough. I tried to hold on. Sometimes you shouldn't just push, but think. Today I played my cards with the legs I had." It was a very complicated position for the De Lie and in the finale it became obvious that only the final sprint could save his race.

But the stars aligned for the 23-year old, as all attacks were reeled in and a bunch sprint took place. De Lie took the victory, directly ahead of an also incredibly strong van der Poel who finished second, but this small lead was enough to both win the stage and the overall classification.

"At the end, Jenno [Berckmoes] was still with me. He always works well for me. I'm happy I was able to win for my teammates. When you finish second, you miss the icing on the cake, but today wasn't just one icing, but two or three."

De Lie, who has suffered from injuries, illnesses and media pressure a lot over the past few years, has finally managed to obtain the results that his potential promised. "It was a difficult period, but things have been much better for a while now. I wanted to show it today. That I can beat Mathieu van der Poel is fantastic. Not many people get that."