First win of the year gives De Lie confidence boost before the Giro — 'We needed a bit of luck'

Arnaud De Lie won the Famenne Ardenne Classic in 2023 and 2024 and did it again on Sunday. The Lotto-Intermarché Belgian now looks ready for the Giro d'Italia, where he has his sights set on at least the opening week. After his win in the Belgian Classic, De Lie spoke about the confidence boost it gives him.

"I'm very happy," were his first words after the finish in the flash interview. "I did have a lot of luck in this race. The early break almost held on. We caught them at 100, 150 metres from the finish. We needed a bit of luck — but I think we also showed initiative as a team."

"In the end we were able to finish it off with a win," De Lie continued. "That's great for the team, but for me personally too. When you're a sprinter and you can't win, that's hard. This one means a great deal." It is his first win of the calendar year, and his team had to work hard to make it happen.

"We had no help from other teams before we entered the final circuit," De Lie analysed. "They were playing their cards too. We couldn't go much faster — my teammates delivered an exceptional performance. Something like this always stays a little tactical. In the end I don't know exactly what was happening in the breakaway, but I know the feeling: when you see the finish line, you ease up a little. That might have made the difference today."

The sprint itself looked excellent. "You can be good on the bike, but a sprint is more instinctive. Today I really had that instinct. When I was on the wheel at 400 metres from the finish, I waited for the very last moment to go. We went past the finish five times during the race, so I'd seen that the wind was really coming head-on. I went at the last possible moment, and that was the right call — there was a real headwind. Those last 200 metres felt very long."

All in all, then, an excellent result with the Giro just around the corner. "I genuinely came here to build confidence. I think winning is the best boost you can get for the next challenges, and the Giro is one of them. It gives me a small boost heading there — especially because Milan Menten will be my lead-out man. We did really well today, even if we lost each other a little in the finale. The most important thing is to be in the right place at the right time — and today that was the case. Thank you to the whole team."