Algemeen 3rd place for Arnaud De Lie in first stage of Tour de Suisse

"All the pieces have to fall into place," De Lie had predicted beforehand. "There aren't many sprint opportunities this week, so I have to be motivated today. It won't be easy. The tough climb at the end (2.9 kilometers at an average of 6.3 percent) makes this first stage hard to predict."

De Lie was right, because with a strongly reduced peloton—about 80 riders were left after the difficult finale—it came down to a sprint. De Lie was perfectly positioned, with Cedric Beullens as the perfect lead-out. "Unfortunately, at that moment something happened with his chain, causing Arnaud to stop pedaling for a moment and miss out on the stage win," summarized De Mol. "He finished third, but we can be sure that a victory slipped through our fingers here."

"That makes the feeling after stage one of this Tour de Suisse naturally mixed. We don't have many chances to go for a victory this week, and today's stage was one of them. At the same time, we have to take the positives with us: I saw a very strong team. Jarrad (Drizners) and Jacopo (Guarnieri) did strong work as planned to set up the finale, and I saw a very strong lead-out from Cedric. That Arnaud is present after a period without competition and immediately shows that he has the legs is reassuring. On to tomorrow."

Picture: PhotoNews