Arnaud De Lie is known for pronouncing what he thinks and in Friday’s pre-Omloop Het Nieuwsblad press convention, he made no secret of his want to nail down a big triumph once he can within the 2025 Spring Classics season.
A 2d position end within the 2023 version of Omloop – his first-ever participation – used to be a big commentary via the Belgian superstar, specifically for the reason that he had crashed past due on. Then, after a relatively disappointing tenth position in 2024, the proficient Walloon racer is decided to offer his opponents a run for his or her cash on Saturday.
“Every time I’ve taken part in this race, I’ve felt great,” De Lie informed journalists on Friday, “I’m impatient to put a race number on my back in a Flemish race wearing my nice Belgian National Champion’s jersey.”
De Lie agreed with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), who additionally gave a press convention Friday, that the 2025 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad direction is more challenging than in earlier editions. Just like the British racer, De Lie highlighted the reintroduction of the Eikenberg climb at 56 kilometres from the end in an absolutely recobbled structure, one thing that “changes everything” within the race.
“Before there were some parts of the climb that were tarmacked and you could use those to get up it but now it’s all pavé. And that makes things more difficult. Anybody who’s in 50th position or further back could lose the race,” De Lie stated.
“Then there’s the descent to the Wolvenberg and if a team wants to rip things up there, it could create some huge gaps. The finale isn’t so different, but the stretches of easier road for recovery are shorter than they used to be.”
De Lie used to be a DNS within the Volta ao Algarve at the ultimate day as a result of allergic reactions, however he stated on Friday that up till that time within the Portuguese race he were feeling higher and higher and on degree 4, he were in a position “to put down a really nice sprint.” His higher situation used to be due partially, he stated, to his very other iciness build-up.
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“My preparation has changed a lot, and the fact [that because of those changes] I could ride in Bessèges, Almeria and Algarve is something I liked a lot. I got a lot of pleasure out of racing. I prefer that than to be sat on top of a volcano” – a connection with the Teide volcano within the Canary Islands, the place riders regularly do altitude coaching – “watching bike races on TV that I’d like to have ridden. So I feel good, physically and mentally.”
Then again, the true evidence of his technique will come on Saturday within the ultimate kilometres of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. “If I win, my spring will already have been a resounding success,” he informed journalists.
“But you get hungry through eating and if I manage to raise my arms on the finish line, I think that’ll give me an enormous boost, and I will be keen to do even better in what comes afterwards.”
To take action on Saturday, after all, De Lie must take on and beat his opponents in a race which he insisted used to be notoriously unpredictable, declaring that even the most powerful of breakaways like Dylan van Baarle (Visma-Hire a Motorcycle) in 2023 used to be slightly in a position to fend off the peloton. This 12 months Van Baarle isn’t racing, however De Lie stated Visma stay one of the vital robust squads, and now not simply as a result of their chief and previous Omloop winner Wout Van Aert.
“Globally they’re very impressive,” De Lie stated. “I spent a week in the Algarve racing next to Van Aert and I could see he was in great form. His time trial” – the place he took 2d in the back of teammate Jonas Vingegaard – “is the proof.”
“As for UAE [Team Emirates-XRG], they’ve been up there in the thick of it since the start of the season. These two teams [Visma and UAE often make the right strategic decisions and you have to be really sharp to be able to beat them.”
“But we’ve got a 100% Belgian team and we’re really united. I hope we’ll be up to meeting the challenge.”
