Lotto management have made it clear that Arnaud De Lie's participation in the upcoming Opening Weekend at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is not at risk despite his recent knee injury caused by a training crash.
De Lie had to postpone the start of his season, set to begin this weekend in Spain at the one-day GP Castellon and Clâssica Comunitat Valenciana 24 hours later because of the knee injury. Fortunately, the consequences have turned out to be minor, his team say, and his race schedule longer term will not be affected.
Belgian national champion De Lie is still only 22. But his second place despite a crash in his first-ever participation in 2023 at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the curtain-raiser both for the World Tour in Europe and for Belgian racing each season, not to mention his rapid rise since then through the cycling hierarchy of fast finishers, combine to make him a stand-out favourite for the Omloop.
"Actually, he could have raced this weekend," sports manager Kurt van de Wouwer told the Nieuwsblad newspaper. "But we have decided to cancel the GP Castellon and the GP Valencia" - which De Lie won back in 2023 - "in order not to get into trouble later."
"I also do not think that this will have an influence on his performance in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Arnaud has to take it a bit easier for a few days to let everything heal properly, but he will not fall behind in terms of condition because of it."
After the delayed start to his program, De Lie will still start his year at the Étoile des Bessèges stage race, running from February 5-9. He will then follow that up with the Volta ao Algarve (February 19-23) before heading to Belgium for Opening Weekend and OHN on March 1.
