ProTeam Arnaud De Lie sprints to fourth place in Almeria
He finished fourth there last year and second the year before. So, the role of favorite was also reserved for the “bull from Lescheret” in the Clasica de Almeria this time. “His win last week in the Etoile de Bessèges gave him confidence,” De Lie was quoted as saying beforehand. After Almeria, there’s even more confidence. While a win wasn’t possible in Spain, a fourth-place finish in a finish that doesn’t suit him 100% still gives an extra good feeling before the classics. “Of course,” Arnaud De Lie confirms. “A mass sprint is not my favorite, but it always feels good to have it in the legs again.”
“We started today with a young team. We had the experience of Sebastien Grignard and Jarrad Drizners, but also Milan Donie and Matys Grisel—two riders from our devo team—and Baptiste Veistroffer were part of the selection today. It’s not just the result that matters—fourth place is not bad—but also what we did during the race, I thought it was really good. I saw motivation in everyone, and the vibe between us was great. Unfortunately, Baptiste crashed in the final, but he had done a lot of work before that. In the end, I went into the sprint with three guys, Seba, Jarrad, and Matys ahead of me. It was the first time we tried it this way, and it turned out pretty well. We can be satisfied.”
Arnaud De Lie will line up for the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal on Wednesday.
Baptiste Veistroffer suffered some abrasions from his crash but is otherwise not feeling any discomfort.
Picture: PhotoNews
