There was a nice moment of sportsmanship during Stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia between two old teammates, and current friends. Visma-Lease a Bike’s Victor Campenaerts helped struggling compatriot Arnaud De Lie of Lotto on the day’s toughest climb.
De Lie, still dealing with the effects of a stomach bug he picked up last week, was quickly dropped as the pace ramped up. Seeing his pal in trouble, Campenaerts rolled over and took one of De Lie’s bottles to lighten the load.
Different teams, but shared respect 🤝
Victor Campenaerts gives compatriot Arnaud De Lie a helping hand as the Belgian goes through a rough patch! pic.twitter.com/rt6C7uctkJ
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) May 10, 2026
A little goes a long way for De Lie
The small gesture appeared to help. After a long chase, De Lie managed to fight his way back into the peloton with around 55 km remaining. He finished safely in the bunch in 47th, and could love to fight another day. Luckily for De Lie, who earlier this month won Famenne Ardenne Classic, Monday is a rest day as the Giro makes its way out of Bulgaria and back into Italy.
On Tuesday, Stage 4 from Catanzaro to Cosenza, 138 km, could prove trickier than it first appears. The real test comes after roughly 80 km with the climb of Cosso Tuno, a 14.4-km ascent averaging 5.9 per cent. From there, riders face a long descent before a short uphill drag to the line. So, if De Lie is feeling better, he may not need Campenaerts to help him lose a few grams up the main climb. Plus, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider is going to be quite busy helping his team leader Jonas Vingegaard as the hard stages, and the Dane’s Giro bid, really gets going.
You can catch the action as the lads get back to business on Tuesday on Flobikes.com. The online broadcast begins at 7:30 a.m. EDT. And if you miss it, because, well, life, breakfast, riding, work, whatever, just come back here too Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report. We gotchu.
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