Bad luck spoils homecoming for De Lie as Meeus sprints to victory in the Tour of Wallonia

The opening stage of the Tour of Wallonia was won by Jordi Meeus. The Belgian sprinted convincingly to victory after a stage that had been attacked hard from the finish. Home rider Arnaud De Lie endured a day of terrible bad luck, with no fewer than three punctures.

The Giro d’Italia had only just finished when the next stage race was already on the programme. In Belgium, the Tour of Wallonia began on Monday. Corbin Strong was unable to defend his title because of Giro duty, but that did not mean there was a shortage of big names.

Arnaud De Lie was on the start line, for instance. The Belgian withdrew from the Giro because of illness, but was able to ride his home race, which he was keen to do. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe also had strong cards to play with Meeus and the in-form Laurence Pithie.

Three riders went clear straight from the start. Dries De Bondt was the best-known name in that group. German Oscar Schempp then tried to bridge across, but ended up in a classic chasse patate.

Up to the local circuit, it was mainly Lotto-Intermarché and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe who took charge in the peloton. Until unlucky Arnaud De Lie punctured yet again. The Belgian was fortunately able to get back quickly.

On the local circuit, it was mainly NSN who took control. The team did not have a top sprinter and did everything it could to avoid a bunch finish. The pace really went up towards the final climb of the Mur de Thuin, while De Lie had to change bikes again.

The Belgian was able to return just before the climb, but up front the race exploded thanks to NSN. A group including Pithie and Sente Sentjens got a bit of freedom, but did not work together well. Still, it was the start of an aggressive finale.

The peloton had been reduced substantially, making control difficult. At this stage it was the smaller teams Tarteletto and Flanders-Baloise who tried to steady things. With five kilometres to go, calm seemed to have returned and a sprint still looked likely.

Tom Crabbe of Flanders-Baloise and Axel Laurence of INEOS Grenadiers had plenty of riders around them, while De Lie punctured for a third time. The Belgian gave up with 3 kilometres to go, so he would not lose time in the general classification.

With 1.5 kilometres remaining, Krists Neilands tried to catch the sprinters out with a late attack. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, however, stayed alert and covered it. Meeus then finished the job of his team in convincing style.