De Lie : ‘I was phenomenal’.

May 5 ^th 2024 - 18:36

Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) : 'I stayed super calm, and that's what helped me win. I had a first puncture, and changing the wheel took me a long time. We started a chase to catch up and it took time. I had a front/rear puncture, but the tubeless fixed it, and I still had two bars in each tyre. I didn't want to change; I had to keep going because I would have lost another minute if I did. I waited for a group to form to regain a bit of control. That's when we changed bikes. I rejoined my group with my four teammates; they rode strong, and we returned to the line with the leading group. I was feeling really strong at the farm. I put in a short attack, which hurt. Then I had another puncture! I was still super calm. Liam Slock waited for me to bring me back. After that, Bret Van Moer and Alec Segaert did a great job. I wanted to keep the tempo high to catch the breakaway and then to catch the St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 rider, who was super strong. I pushed hard at the farm again, both for the spectacle and for the race. Today, I was phenomenal. I've rarely had legs like that. But staying calm throughout the race did a lot. It only took up a little of my energy. As they say in cycling jargon back home, I was stinking of strength.'