🎥 De Lie limps out of the Tour; Arvid de Kleijn emotionally remembers his late father: 'This suffering is nothing'
CyclingTuesday, 07 July 2026 at 14:23
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Follow us on GoogleThe third stage of the Tour de France started with an immediate climb, which usually spells trouble for the fast riders. That proved to be the case on the way to Les Angers, where Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) ultimately failed to reach the finish. Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor) finished just ahead of the broom wagon.
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De Lie had already had a difficult start, as he fell ill the Wednesday before the Tour de France. As a result, the sprinter missed the team presentation on Thursday and the TTT reconnaissance ride on Saturday. He did, however, manage to battle his way through the grueling opening weekend in Barcelona. This was partly thanks to his teammate Baptiste Veistroffer, who continued to support him for a long time during Stage 3 as well.
The Belgian rider from Lotto-Intermarché finally met his Waterloo on Stage 3. He had to let the peloton pull away in the opening phase and ultimately realised that making the time limit would be an impossible task. It was painful to watch, especially as he had also quickly dropped out of the Giro d'Italia in the same way.
Emotional Arvid de Kleijn thought of his dad on stage 3
Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor) did finish just within the time limit at Les Angers, but as the footage from the race organizers below shows, he didn’t have an easy day either. The stocky sprinter is competing in his first Tour de France and finished just over 41 minutes behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar in Stage 3.
He was emotional after the stage, as he explained the thoughts and feelings that had accompanied him on the lonely stage: "I'm exhausted. I was riding with my dad in mind. He died in February," explained the sprinter. "I saw him suffer so much. This suffering is nothing compared to what I saw. You just need to keep on going."
Videos: Arvid de Kleijn battles the time limit and remembers late father
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David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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