Lotto-Intermarché’s star rider Arnaud De Lie has recognised that a question mark now hovers over the exact date of the start of his season following a domestic accident that left him with an injured ankle. But the Belgian fastman is planning to hit the ground running in 2026 all the same.
De Lie’s difficult first half of 2025 due to injuries and sickness then improved dramatically towards the end of the year with a stunning run of success – only for the Walloon racer to suffer a fresh setback when he damaged his ankle after falling down the stairs at home during the Christmas break.
The Belgian star was still visibly injured at the Lotto-Intermarché team launch earlier this week with his leg in a splint. Even so, he was adamant that he would be able to return to full training soon and get quickly into racing despite some potential delays.
Like everybody at the team launch, in any case, after reports of multiple behind-the-scenes hiccups during the fusion of Intermarché and Lotto, De Lie’s appreciation that the new squad was up and running was palpable too. The ankle injury is a setback, but in the bigger scheme of things, the news is definitely good.
“Normally I’ll race the Clásica Almería (February 15) then the Volta ao Algarve (February 18-22), but these aren’t top priorities.”
De Lie will want to be sure he’s performing in much better shape at the Opening Weekend – where he took a memorable second place back in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2023 despite crashing – prior to heading on to Tirreno-Adriatico. That will be followed by Ronde van Brugge, Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, his…
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