ProTeam Arnaud De Lie sprints to strong 5th place in stage 8 of the Tour de France

The slightly uphill finish in Laval suited Arnaud De Lie perfectly, and he seized the opportunity with both hands in today's eighth stage, which started in Saint-Méen-le-Grand. De Lie managed to join the sprint and finished a strong fifth. "If I compare the Arnaud De Lie from the stage in Dunkirk to the one from today, I see a big difference," said a happy De Lie afterwards. "I was too nice back then. That wasn't the case now. I initially didn’t have any space. A pure sprinter would have pushed through, but I held back a bit. ‘Braking’ is a strong word, but I did stop pedaling, which made me lose some speed and a few positions. But then I saw the 500-meter sign and went for it. I came back quickly to the front, although the bird had already flown by then."

De Lie’s fifth place is a boost for the Lotto Cycling Team, in a Tour that hasn’t gone smoothly so far. Earlier this week, the team saw Jasper De Buyst leave for home due to illness. Lennert Van Eetvelt is still recovering from a crash at the start of the Tour, and De Lie himself also fell, luckily without serious consequences. For Arnaud De Lie personally, it’s also a weight off his shoulders. "I'm glad I was able to give it my all again," he said. "The past few days I felt stuck, but today I finally felt that my legs were better than on any of the other days in this Tour. I'm really happy. Of course, we always want more, but for my confidence and that of my teammates, this is a good sign."

Picture: PhotoNews