De Lie survives opening day of the Tour after abandoning pre-stage recon
Before the start of the Tour de France's opening stage TTT, there was a lot of talk about whether Belgian sprinter Arnaud De Lie would be able to start for Lotto-Intermarché, just 48 hours after he skipped the ceremonial team presentation on Thursday evening due to tummy trouble.
Images circulated of De Lie effectively abandoning pre-stage recon on the time trial route in Barcelona, showing the 24-year-old clambering gingerly off his bike, and folding himself into the team car that was following. Most if not all participating teams will have had a substitute nearby in the event of disaster, so it wasn't out of the realms of possibility that that Lotto-Intermarché might make a late change to its Tour lineup. However, that was apparently never on the cards.
"Arnaud fell ill two days ago,” sport director Kurt Van de Wouwer told WielerFlits. “Fortunately, there was significant improvement yesterday, and he was stable this morning. The reconnaissance didn't go well for him, so he got into the car. But for us, it was never an option for him not to start.
"The time trial itself wasn't too bad. He was able to do his job perfectly and he finished with the other guys. It went smoothly. Now you don't have a few flat stages to get into the swing of things; it's tough right away. We have to count on him recovering day by day now and being able to compete in the sprints.”
