Campenaerts explains bidon gesture to struggling De Lie - 'Otherwise the peloton would be a fucked up place'

The images, filmed during Sunday’s stage, quickly drew attention on social media. De Lie, already struggling with illness, was in difficulty on a climb when Campenaerts took one of his bottles, sparing the Lotto-Intermarché sprinter a little extra weight as he tried to make it over the top.

For Campenaerts, now riding for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the gesture needed little explanation. The two Belgians were teammates at Lotto and developed a close bond during De Lie’s first years as a professional.

“When Arnaud became a professional, we spent a lot of time together,” Campenaerts said to Sporza. “We were on the same Lotto team. Arnaud came to my house a lot during that period. When I was in Spain, he often came to train with me there as well.”

The connection went beyond training rides. Campenaerts said the pair often shared a room during stays in Spain, which helped create a friendship that remained even after he left the team.

That bond was visible on Sunday, when De Lie was clearly struggling. “Besides being cyclists, we are just people in a peloton,” Campenaerts said. “If you see a friend having a difficult moment, you help.”

For Campenaerts, it showed that friendship still has a place in the peloton.

“Luckily, that still exists,” he said. “Otherwise the peloton would be a fucked up place.”

For De Lie, the moment may have looked warmer from the outside than it felt from the saddle. “It was maybe a nice moment for you, but not for me,” he said with a strained smile. “I was completely on the limit. It was a really bad day for me.”

The Belgian’s Giro had been compromised before it properly began. De Lie had been dealing with the effects of a stomach infection after illness hit Lotto-Intermarché in the build-up to the race. Although he was cleared to travel to Bulgaria and start the Giro, his body never fully recovered.

“I can see that my body still isn’t recovering the way it should,” De Lie said before stage 4. “When I go all out, I feel there is nothing in the legs. My stomach still isn’t great either. I can eat, but not everything is going to my legs.”

At that stage, De Lie’s only target was to reach the finish. That proved too much. On Tuesday’s stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza, he climbed off, bringing an end to a painful opening week and leaving Lotto-Intermarché without its leading sprint option.