It’s a victory full of emotion for Arnaud De Lie. The new Belgian road champion has had a very complicated start to the season and this title is therefore a liberation a week before heading to his first Tour de France.
Overwhelmed by his emotions, De Lie could not hold back his tears in the interview after the race. “I don’t have the words”, he explained directly to describe his condition.
”The whole team did a great job, starting with Victor Campenaerts who was the first attacker of the day, up to Cédric Beullens and Milan Menten who did a great job at the end“, did he declare.
”It was a sprint that suits me, especially after a difficult race. When Menten started me, I was at full strength until the finish and I saw that no one was able to catch me”, he confided again to the height of joy.
De Lie also looked back on his difficult start to the season with many setbacks in the spring: “On the classics, I was mentally broken. I made a lot of sacrifices to come back from Lyme disease. It’s a dream to be able to wear this jersey in the Tour de France.”
Arnaud De Lie now has his sights set on his first Tour de France, which he can approach with full confidence and with a magnificent black-yellow-red jersey.
