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Arnaud De Lie eager to race the Tour de Wallonie on home roads

In front of his home crowd and almost on his own doorstep, Arnaud De Lie is ready for the Tour de Wallonie. With stage finishes in Libramont-Chevigny and Vaux-sur-Sûre, De Lie will be racing on roads he knows better than anyone, which gives him even more motivation to get back to competition. "I know these roads like the back of my hand, and that gives me extra motivation," he says.
Race 31 May 2026
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It has been since 2023 that Arnaud De Lie last lined up for the Ethias Tour de Wallonie. Over the past two years, the Belgian rider had the Tour de France on his July schedule, but changes to the cycling calendar mean that the Tour de Wallonie- now taking place more than six weeks earlier- has become the ideal preparation race for the Tour de France. The fact that roughly half of the stages have a direct connection to his personal life makes him even more motivated. "It doesn't put any extra pressure on me, quite the opposite. I know these roads like the back of my hand. During my training rides over the past few days, I could already see the race signs everywhere, and that gives me a really nice feeling. I know where every roundabout is and where I need to be well-positioned," De Lie explains.

By now, everyone knows that the past few weeks have not gone according to plan for De Lie. A bacterial infection caused by contaminated rainwater during the Lotto Famenne Classic forced him to abandon the Giro d'Italia shortly afterwards. "The story is well known. I felt increasingly ill during the flight to Bulgaria. The rest of the team had already been sick, but in my case it took a little longer before the symptoms appeared. In the end, though, the outcome was the same. We all hoped things would improve quickly, but they didn't. Stopping was the only right decision."

The coming week offers several promising opportunities for De Lie. "Those first three stages suit me well. I grew up in Libramont, and my youth club, Chevigny, is based there. I live in Vaux-sur-Sûre. My girlfriend lives in Jodoigne. So I have plenty of connections to this race. Three or four times a year I ride these roads, including parts of the Tour de Wallonie route. I see opportunities, and at the same time this race is valuable preparation for the Tour de France. In other years it would have been impossible for me to start here, but this year it's different- and even more special because it's so close to home. I'm really looking forward to it."

 

Picture: Cyclingmedia_agency