Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny) overpowered an all-star field in the final 150 metres of a reduced bunch sprint and secured his first elite men’s road race national title at the Belgian Road Nationals.
The 22-year-old outsprinted Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) to record the first road championship on the Lotto Dstny team in a decade.
The 22-year-old De Lie used a lead out by teammates Lennert Van Eetvelt and Milan Menten to launch his winning move, and both finished in the top 10.
"I feel liberated, I really have no words for it," Arnaud De Lie said with emotion after the race. "This is the most beautiful jersey in the peloton, and I get to wear it for a year. That's incredible. I really want to show off this jersey. Starting soon, next week, in the Tour de France."
Lotto Dstny set the tone of the 222.4km race from Sint-Lievens-Houtem to Zottegem with Victor Campenaerts and Florian Vermeers comprising the day’s main breakaway for most of the day, Vermeers having returned to racing from four months away to recover from a thigh bone fracture.
“We knew it would come down to a sprint," De Lie said in a team statement. "I stayed calm throughout. My legs felt good, but my head was in a good place too. When your teammates come up to you during the race and say you're still looking good, it gives you wings.
“They had complete confidence in me, and that means a lot. The team did an enormous amount of work, and then there was that impressive lead-out. I was on Milan Menten's wheel. At the moment he moved aside, you know: you just have to go. I gave it everything and saw no one around me at the finish… That's when I knew I had won."
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