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Arnaud De Lie impresses with 4th place at Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
Lotto Soudal rider and neo-pro Arnaud De Lie has once again impressed, this time in the one-day race Bretagne Classic Ouest-France (1.UWT), which was decided in a reduced bunch sprint after 250 kilometres on hilly Breton roads. It was Lotto Soudal – with four riders present in the very final – who brought its sprinter Arnaud De Lie into a perfect position towards the finish. Jasper De Buyst delivered the lead-out, De Lie launched a powerful acceleration and seemed to be close to victory, only to be passed in the final metres to the line. It was Wout Van Aert who eventually won, De Lie had to settle for fourth place. The Frenchman Laurance and the Dane Kamp finished second and third, respectively.
After the race, it was a happy De Lie who reacted to his best result in a WorldTour race so far. “This fourth place in a tough race like the Bretagne Classic of course makes me happy but if you are sprinting for victory, you always want more. The legs still felt quite good for the sprint and the team did another great job of delivering me to the line. Maybe we made a little mistake by being at the front too early. Nevertheless, I don’t think I launched my sprint too early but with the slight uphill and the headwind, I was still passed at the very end. I was close to the podium and maybe even the victory, so this fourth place makes me really happy.”
For the 20-year-old neo-pro, the Bretagne Classic Ouest-France was with 254 kilometres the longest race in his career so far. “After Gent-Wevelgem, this is only my second race of such a long distance. That I can already take a result here is really great. The team’s plan was quite simple: race to get the highest possible result. In the final kilometres, it became clear that it would end in a sprint so it was up to me to show my fast legs. The team did another great job today and I am happy to reward them for their big efforts with this fourth place. This is once again a boost towards my next race: GP Fourmies on Sunday 11 September”, concludes Arnaud De Lie.
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