Arnaud De Lie (21) still has to wait a little longer for his first victory of the season. De Lie was the eye-catcher in the GP Samyn, but a slip 30 kilometers from the finish ruined his chances. The Lotto leader gave free rein to his emotions immediately after his crash and had not yet completely calmed down after giving up on the team bus.
Equipment failure in the last hour of the competition marked the beginning of Arnaud De Lie’s swan song. Shortly after his breakdown, the leader of Lotto – Dstny fell in a bend.
“Malchance,” he responded to the team bus. “Bad luck. Everything was under control and it was the right time to change bikes. I think my derailleur was hit.”
But during his catch-up race towards the peloton, De Lie slipped away in a bend. Was it his own fault? De Lie decided not to. “I was calm and I didn’t take any risks, but suddenly the brakes were applied. I still don’t know why.”
“I don’t understand what the jury did there, braking like that in that corner. I came at a lot of speed, but the cars were standing still.”
“I was very surprised. You shouldn’t brake there, right? If that support car – I don’t remember which team – just keeps my speed there, then I won’t crash.”
I don’t understand what the jury did there, braking like that in that corner. I came there at a lot of speed, but the cars were standing still. I was very surprised. You shouldn’t brake there, okay?
Arnaud De Lie
The TV images show a black competition car just in front of the Equipo Kern Pharma team car.
“Yes, I’m going to hit the ground myself, but I didn’t make a mistake,” said a visibly annoyed De Lie.
“It’s like closing everything on the highway… I don’t know why they did that. But now a victory eludes me. So I have to thank them,” he said cynically.
De Lie grumbled after his crash. “It’s difficult to stay calm at such a moment. I had a chance to win. When you have legs like that… And when I look at the sprint, victory was definitely possible.”
“It’s frustrating, but I have to put it into perspective. Paris-Nice is the goal from Sunday.”
“My knee – again that same knee – is a bit damaged, but I will now work a bit on the farm and then it will be fine. My confidence has certainly not lost.”
Sports director Demol: “Arnaud is certainly not to blame”
Sports director Dirk Demol shared his version and exonerated his opponent. “It was a good moment to change and we told Arnaud not to panic.”
“He was slaloming, but suddenly they closed everything in a bend, which is actually not possible. That driver didn’t do that, but you don’t stop in a bend.”
Demol looked at the black competition car. “That team leader from Kern Pharma can’t do anything about it. He has to stop because the car stops in front of him.”
“I’m just disappointed by the way this happened. Arnaud is certainly not to blame, that’s not possible.”
“He is in excellent condition and he had set his sights on this. He was looking forward to it. Is there any damage? Abrasions, a lot of abrasions. Hopefully Paris-Nice will not be compromised.”
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2024-02-27 18:15:00
#Arnaud #Lie #slumps #slider #Samyn #mistake
