ProTeam Arnaud De Lie abandons 4 Jours de Dunkerque with concussion

Lotto Soudal rider Arnaud De Lie will not start in stage two of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque. The young Belgian suffered a concussion and a lot of abrasions following a crash in the closing metres of the opening stage. However, examinations in the hospital did not reveal any fractures. As a precaution, De Lie is forced to leave the 4 Jours de Dunkerque.

The opening stage of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque took the riders over 160 kilometres from Dunkerque to Aniche, where two local laps of ten kilometres were completed before the actual finish. An early breakaway of three riders was reeled in early in the stage, after which a new attack of three riders formed. They were eventually caught inside the final local lap and so the opening stage would end in an expected bunch sprint. In the chaotic final kilometres, Lotto Soudal’s sprinter Arnaud De Lie was kept at the front by his teammates. Australian Welsford launched his sprint, De Lie came up to speed and tried to pass him but crashed in the final metres of the stage. Welsford was eventually relegated by the jury, the stage win was appointed to Dutchman De Kleijn.

Although he incurred some injuries, De Lie was particularly disappointed that he was unable to reward his teammates for their excellent work in the opening stage. “I went very fast and I was sure to be taking the win today, but there was no possibility for me to avoid the crash. At the moment I feel pretty okay and I am primarily disappointed to miss out on a victory. The team worked hard for me all day and I wanted to reward them...”