It wasn’t imagined to be this manner. Arnaud De Lie had pinpointed Gent-Wevelgem as one in every of his fundamental targets of the season, however the Belgian made no impression on Sunday’s race. He would attain the end on Vanackerestraat alone, rolling residence in ninetieth place greater than 5 minutes down on winner Mads Pedersen.
In each good days and unhealthy, De Lie normally gives an affably plain-speaking evaluation of his races. This outing, the 22-year-old most popular to float via the combined zone with no phrase and trip on to his staff bus. The autopsy was as an alternative left to Lotto-Dstny CEO Stéphane Heulot.
De Lie is scheduled to make his Tour of Flanders debut on Sunday, however Heulot conceded that the rest of the teenager’s Classics marketing campaign is now unsure. With De Lie’s first Tour de France look to return later within the 12 months, Lotto-Dstny may effectively choose to spare him any additional blows to his morale within the coming days.
“We’re going to speak about Arnaud’s programme,” Heulot instructed Het Nieuwsblad. “Persevering with to race simply to race doesn’t assist in any respect. We’re going to debate issues with him and see what’s finest for him. We’ll revisit his race schedule. I don’t know but what he desires to do, however he must clear his head.”
Barely a month in the past, Lie’s Classics marketing campaign was brimming with promise. After he went toe-to-toe with Wout van Aert at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, there appeared to be few limits on the heights the Bull of Lescheret may attain this Spring.
De Lie has been steadily shedding altitude within the weeks since, beginning with the crash that compelled him to desert Le Samyn in early March. He struggled at Paris-Good every week later, pulling out after simply three days. He crashed once more within the finale of the GP de Denain, and regardless that he remounted to take fourth place there and fifth at Bredene-Koksijde a day later, he should have puzzled if he was ever going to construct up a head of steam this 12 months.
His momentum has floor to a whole halt over the previous two races. Earlier than the season started, De Lie had outlined E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem as essentially the most achievable objectives of his Flemish marketing campaign. At Harelbeke, he was nowhere to be seen when Mathieu van der Poel ignited the race on the Taaienberg, and he completed an nameless 51st. On Sunday, De Lie missed the preliminary cut up at De Moeren with 150km remaining, and he was by no means seen on the head of affairs once more.
“That is extra a psychological situation than a bodily one,” Heulot stated. “The Classics he was actually aiming for are actually over, and that is a disappointment, however we’re not going to cover behind something. This isn’t simple, least of all for Arnaud himself. And when issues go badly, you lose confidence. We’re going to cope with this as a staff. We have not seen the true Arnaud but this 12 months. We should discover him once more, and we’ll.”
Heulot’s ideas had been echoed by Lotto-Dstny sports activities supervisor Kurt Van de Wouwer. Though De Lie had been concerned in a crash early in Gent-Wevelgem, his subdued show couldn’t be defined totally by that fall.
“After all, that’s by no means useful. It wasn’t a heavy fall, but it surely’s not constructive,” Van de Wouwer instructed Sporza, including that De Lie had missed the cut up at De Moeren simply as he had carried out on the Taaienberg two days earlier.
“However there was one other regrouping after that and once more we weren’t within the lead, so it wasn’t adequate. Arnaud stated that he was disenchanted. It did not go the best way he wished, however he has no rationalization for it both.
“Now we have no indication that Arnaud is in poor health or that one thing else is happening. That isn’t the case.”
De Lie was not scheduled to trip Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, and Van de Wouwer confirmed that his participation within the Tour of Flanders is now not a certainty. “That’s definitely a line of thought, however we’re not going to determine but. We’ll have a look at all the pieces along with the efficiency workers,” stated Van de Wouwer. “If it’s the only option for the rest of his season, then so be it.”
