De Lie's Classics ambitions intact despite injury setback

Arnaud De Lie is optimistic that the start of his 2026 season will not be delayed by the ankle injury he sustained in late December. The Belgian spent over a week off the bike after the incident, and he has not yet returned to full training.

Speaking at the presentation of the newly merged Lotto-Intermarché team in Temse on Monday, De Lie said that he still hoped to start his season as planned at next month’s Clásica de Almería before lining up at the Volta ao Algarve as he builds towards Opening Weekend.

“The plan is to kick off my season on February 15 with the Clásica de Almería, followed by the Volta ao Algarve as preparation for Omloop and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne,” De Lie said, according to Het Nieuwsblad. “But I won’t start again until I feel my ankle can handle it; I'm definitely not taking any risks.” 

In both 2024 and 2025, De Lie was forced to end his Classics campaign early due to physical problems, but the Belgian plans to make his belated Tour of Flanders debut this year before returning to Paris-Roubaix for the first time since 2023.

He confirmed on Monday that he will ride Tirreno-Adriatico in March, though he will forgo Milan-San Remo in order to focus on the cobbles. He is scheduled to ride the Ronde Van Brugge (formerly Brugge-De Panne), Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen before riding the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. 

“I want to ride as well as possible in the Classics,” De Lie told Sporza, and he downplayed the severity of the ankle injury he suffered in a domestic accident.

“I simply fell on the stairs at home, and I immediately knew it wasn’t good. But accidents can happen anywhere. Things are getting better and better now. I couldn’t train for a week, but it’s under control and going in the right direction. Now I can ride for three to four hours.

“Last week I trained for 17 hours. My fitness is good and I feel good on the bike, but I can’t sprint or ride fast yet. I can do warm-up rides and endurance training, but not the real intensity yet. I’m just focusing on what I can do, and when I’m better, I’ll increase the intensity.”

De Lie will hope to be competitive in time for Omloop, where he was so impressive with a second place behind Dylan van Baarle on his debut in 2023. “Omloop and Kuurne are in my head – but I have to be ready and at 100%,” he said.

After the Classics, De Lie aims to ride the Tour de Wallonie in its new June date before taking part in his third Tour de France, while he also aims to make the Belgian selection for the World Championships in Montreal. “I’ve only done one Worlds in my career, and it will be very tough, but I always ride well in Canada,” said De Lie, winner of the Grand Prix de Montréal in 2023.

The other headline act at the revamped Lotto-Intermarché is neo-professional Jarno Widar, who has amassed a striking stage racing palmarès during his under-23 career. The 20-year-old is set to race Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but he ruled out a Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia.

“Everything starts from scratch,” Widar said. “You want results, but if I can just become the best version of myself, I’ll be proud of myself.”