"You have to take risks" - Arnaud De Lie impresses in first ever Tour de France bunch sprint amidst Dylan Groenewegen's frustrations

For the newly crowned Belgian national champion, Arnaud De Lie, expectations were high heading into the 2024 Tour de France. It's worth remembering that this is the first ever Grand Tour for the 22-year-old Belgian starlet though, and in his first Tour de France bunch sprint, De Lie took a creditable 3rd.

“This was my first bunch sprint in the Tour de France and it was special,” reflected the Lotto Dstny sprinter in a post-stage interview with Het Nieuwsblad. “The team did a good job and I ended up third. Am I happy with that third place? Absolutely. I am really happy with this. The Tour is still long and there are still opportunities to come. I felt really good anyway.”

In the end, it was Biniam Girmay who powered his way to a history making first career Tour de France stage win, with Fernando Gaviria in second and De Lie third. For many of the notable sprint names, including Jasper Philipsen and Mark Cavendish, a late crash held up any potential chances of them sprinting for the victory in Torino.

“It's the Tour de France. Everyone wants to win and so you have to take risks," assesses De Lie, who himself earned the ire of Dutch national champion Dylan Groenwegen in the frantic finale, with the Team Jayco AlUla sprinter adjudging De Lie to have deviated from his line right at the very last, in turn denying Groenewegen the chance to come past and take at least a podium place. "Sometimes taking risks leads to a crash. I hope everyone who fell is okay," De Lie concludes.