May has already seen Arnaud De Lie forced to leave one of his major season goals, the Giro d'Italia, after four days due to gastroenteritis. This week, he's been back in action at the Tour de Wallonie, but his luck hasn't yet turned.
The Belgian won the Famenne Ardenne Classic to start the month, but he's endured a tough time since then. Through three stages in Wallonie so far, his top result is just sixth.
On the opening day, won by Jordi Meeus in a bunch sprint finish, De Lie fell victim to multiple punctures, which took him out of contention.
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The next day, on the miserable stage 2, he found himself stuck behind other sprinters in the dash for the line, taking sixth place behind Ben Oliver.
Then, on Wednesday's third stage, he was one of many riders caught behind the massive crash at 1.5km to go, while out front Laurence Pithie sealed victory in a much-reduced group sprint.
"I have to stay calm, but inside I am not. I've been putting things into perspective for three days now. Soon, I'll be a Buddhist monk," De Lie told RTL Sports after stage 3 in Vaux-sur-Sûre.
De Lie has a chance again on stage 4 with its uphill finish in Eupen. He's been frustrated by his outing so far, but is staying calm despite his continued poor fortune.
"It's just a real shame. If I were to say it like Kevin De Bruyne, 'It's starting to get on my nerves'," De Lie said, quoting the Belgian football star. "But we have to stay calm.
"My legs felt really good, even better than on Tuesday. It’s a shame that crash happened. There’s no result again. I want to stay calm; things will turn around. It was very tense in the final.
"That crash happened right in front of me; I don’t know how many riders might have gone through. There were about thirty riders down. Luckily, I’m really okay; I just fell in the grass."
De Lie is in Wallonie as part of his build-up to the Tour de France next month. The Copenhagen Sprint one-day race and the five-day Tour de Suisse will provide further opportunities to win and sharpen his form before he heads to France.
There, he'll spearhead the Lotto-Intermarché selection, which should also include Lennert Van Eetvelt, himself another victim of bad luck at the Giro after crashing out and breaking a finger on stage 12.
