Lotto administration have made it clear that Arnaud De Lie’s participation within the upcoming Opening Weekend at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is just not in danger regardless of his current knee damage attributable to a coaching crash.
De Lie needed to postpone the beginning of his season, set to start this weekend in Spain on the one-day GP Castellon and Clâssica Comunitat Valenciana 24 hours later due to the knee damage. Fortunately, the results have turned out to be minor, his workforce say, and his race schedule long run is not going to be affected.
Belgian nationwide champion De Lie remains to be solely 22. But his second place regardless of a crash in his first-ever participation in 2023 at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the curtain-raiser each for the World Tour in Europe and for Belgian racing every season, to not point out his speedy rise since then by way of the biking hierarchy of quick finishers, mix to make him a stand-out favorite for the Omloop.
“Actually, he may have raced this weekend,” sports activities supervisor Kurt van de Wouwer instructed the Nieuwsblad newspaper. “But we’ve got determined to cancel the GP Castellon and the GP Valencia” – which De Lie received again in 2023 – “so as to not get into bother later.”
“I additionally don’t assume that it will have an affect on his efficiency within the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Arnaud has to take it a bit simpler for a number of days to let all the pieces heal correctly, however he is not going to fall behind when it comes to situation due to it.”
After the delayed begin to his program, De Lie will nonetheless begin his yr on the Étoile des Bessèges stage race, operating from February 5-9. He will then observe that up with the Volta ao Algarve (February 19-23) earlier than heading to Belgium for Opening Weekend and OHN on March 1.
