Lotto-Dstny saw dream for yellow jersey dashed, but with trump cards Van Gils and De Lie have nothing to fear in remainder of Tour de France

After nine stages, Lotto-Dstny can consider their Tour de France a success so far, although they are still chasing that coveted stage victory. With strong riders like Maxim Van Gils and Arnaud De Lie (and don't forget Victor Campenaerts!), the Belgian team has strong contenders to achieve that goal in the second or third week!

IDLProCycling.com spoke with team director Mario Aerts before the start of stage three, the day after the much-discussed opening weekend held in Italy. The 49-year-old Flemish director shared that the ProTour team had (realistic) hopes of taking the yellow jersey with Van Gils during the opening weekend. However, it was not to be for the red-shirts: the blond Belgian finished fifth in the opener, but just couldn't keep up with the very best at San Luca. "We did have a dream for the yellow and with that also for the white jersey with Maxim. So, those were exciting first days," explained Aerts.

De Lie seems particularly keen on Tour stage win

"If Maxim had been among the top four in the general classification on day two, the yellow could have been his," continued the Belgian. "The fact that he just couldn't keep up with Remco Evenepoel (who went to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, ed.) was quite an anticlimax. He said it was close and that he definitely had the legs. It was close but no cigar. Still, we can't complain with such an opening of the Tour. You always have to put things in perspective, right? Here, we are competing against the very best cyclists in the world. There simply are no better. That makes accepting a loss a bit easier."

Aerts also spoke about the other team leader, who is aptly called the Bull of Lescheret, albeit not yet knowing what the Walloon would accomplish in the first week of the Tour. "We haven't imposed anything on Arnaud. Not at all. He's obviously never ridden the Tour before, and with the lead-out and everything around it, it's naturally still an adjustment. From the team leadership, we just said that we have complete confidence in him and that he can join in whenever he wants. He will still have to discover how things really work here, because the Tour is simply incomparable. And of course, the competition is also extremely strong."

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Clear words, but De Lie was right there from the start! Third, fourth, fifth, third... The still only 22-year-old De Lie was a constant presence in the top five in the initial sprint stages. He also made his mark in the much-discussed gravel stage, primarily by making moves early in the stage. A great final result was not to be (partly due to a fall), but there is more than just good form at play here. The stage victory might just be a matter of time, especially considering the course of the second week of the Tour. Sprints on the regular and even a hill stage or two. Something De Lie certainly doesn't shy away from. "Arnaud is a winner, you know. He will undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on himself," Aerts had already said.

Tour de France success for Lotto-Dstny hinges on a single stage win

The desire for triumph can only have grown for De Lie. "The sooner he has that coveted stage win under his belt, the better, of course," Aerts also said. "The sprints are going to be really chaotic, so everything could go awry just as easily. You just never know, although we certainly have a good deal of confidence in him. Learning, observing, and trying are also very important. When is the Tour a success for us? With at least one stage win. That remains the case. It doesn’t matter which one."

Let's finish with Van Gils. He too made his presence felt in the gravel stage, although he had to let the lead group, including Tom Pidcock, go at a certain point. The twenty-something from Brasschaat, whose year could hardly be better, is sure to find his moment in the upcoming week of the Tour. Take stage eleven: tricky, challenging, lots of elevation, but not too much for someone like Van Gils, who, according to Aerts, is also 'climbing better than ever'. Time will tell, but it seems Lotto-Dstny has little to fear!