De Lie started his season slightly later than last year. Back then he already had the Étoile de Bessèges in his legs in Almería and narrowly missed out on the podium in Spain. This season, the Spanish one-day race was his first real test of the year. After a good winter, during which De Lie briefly had to stay off the bike due to an ankle injury, it was still hard to predict how that first race would feel.
An early breakaway came to little, and with 25 kilometres to go in Almería, as the sprint teams took control, it was already clear that the race would once again come down to a bunch sprint. Lotto-Intermarché moved to the front with 10 kilometres to go to set things up for their leader Arnaud De Lie, but in the sprint he unfortunately had to hit the brakes. “I had a plan and followed it properly. NSN had a strong train, but unfortunately one of their lead-outs stayed too long in the sprinters’ line, which boxed me in and saw my sprint go up in smoke. In the final there was also an unfortunate crash close to me. Luckily I managed to stay upright, but unfortunately I couldn’t sprint today.”
Next Wednesday, De Lie will already get new opportunities, as he will line up at the start of the Volta ao Algarve.
