With only 1 teammate next to him, Arnaud De Lie wins chaotic Etoile de Besseges day: "Without races, we can't do our job"

The Etoile de Bessèges peloton was in for the ride of their life today. The race was neutralized after only a few kilometers as for the second consecutive day, a moving car was moving towards the peloton. Almost half of the entire peloton decided to abandon the race, and in the chaos this included most of Arnaud de Lie's teammates. But after the race resumed, he still went on to win stage 3.

The Belgian champion reports on the first chaotic hour on the bike through his lens. "I initially got into the car to warm up. Over the radio, we heard that if we didn’t restart, it would be the end of the Etoile de Bessèges for good," De Lie said in a press release. "That really hit me. Rider safety comes first, absolutely. A car on the course is unacceptable. But at the same time, races like these can only continue to exist because of the riders. It’s thanks to these organizers that we have the opportunity to live our passion".

Seven teams fully abandoned the race. Amidst the chaos, five of Lotto's riders also left the race, but De Lie was in the peloton when the race restarted alongside one teammate. "Baptiste (Veistroffer, ed.) and I lost contact with the rest of our team amidst all the chaos. We were already moving forward again, while the others were preparing to head back to the team bus, just like many other teams".

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What followed was a race with an extremely thinned down peloton, lacking most big teams, and a stage that was cut and raced under a lot of rain. Ultimately it came down to a bunch sprint between the remaining fast men, where de Lie beat Arnaud Démare to take his first win of the year.

"It was a dilemma for everyone, but in the end, I didn’t overthink it and just kept going. At first, we were about 20 riders, but eventually, around 60 continued. I hope I made the right choice," he continnues. "I also did it out of respect for the organizers—they have an incredibly tough job. And I won, in this weather—which I love—after such a crazy day. It felt a bit heroic. I’m really happy with this victory."

As reported by In de Leiderstrui, the Belgian further explained his thoughts on today's stage: "It was a dilemma. The Etoile de Bessèges would probably have struggled to continue if everyone had stopped. So, I didn't ask myself the question to continue cycling. We respect the organizers; without races, we can't do our job". 

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