In short
Arnaud De Lie (born 16 March 2002, Libramont-Chevigny) is a Belgian rider for Lotto-Intermarché, known as "the Bull of Lescheret". He combines sprint power with climbing ability on short, sharp climbs. In 2025 he won the general classification of the Renewi Tour, ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (2nd) and Tim Wellens (3rd, and with four overall wins the rider with the most in the race's history), and during the queen stage he set a climb record on the Muur van Geraardsbergen. His participation in the 2026 edition was not officially confirmed at the time of writing.
Below you can read his profile, palmares and form heading into August 2026, plus what his 2025 win means for this edition.
Who is Arnaud De Lie?
Arnaud De Lie was born on 16 March 2002 in Lescheret, a village in the municipality of Libramont-Chevigny, hence his nickname "the Bull of Lescheret". He is 1.82 m tall and weighs around 77 kg, a build that lets him both sprint and attack short, steep climbs.
De Lie has ridden for the Belgian WorldTour team now known as Lotto-Intermarché since the start of his professional career. He became Belgian road champion in 2024. Despite a period of illness (Lyme disease) in 2024, he has built one of the most impressive palmares of his generation in the Belgian peloton, with a string of wins in one-day races and stage races.
His combination of explosiveness and endurance makes him a reliable name in races with a finish after a short climb, exactly the profile of several Renewi Tour stages such as the finish in Geraardsbergen.
Palmares: the key wins
De Lie delivered results early on. In his first professional season (2022) he won nine races, including the Heistse Pijl and the Ronde van Limburg. In 2023, ten more wins followed, with his first UCI WorldTour victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and the Famenne Ardenne Classic. In 2024 he won Tro-Bro Léon and the general classification of the Tour of Denmark, among others, despite health issues earlier that season.
| Year | Key wins |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 9 wins, incl. Heistse Pijl, Ronde van Limburg |
| 2023 | First WorldTour win (GP Cycliste de Québec), Famenne Ardenne Classic |
| 2024 | Tro-Bro Léon, general classification of the Tour of Denmark, Belgian road champion |
| 2025 | Overall win Renewi Tour, Bretagne Classic, GP de Wallonie, Super 8 Classic |
This table covers the highlights relevant to his profile heading into the Renewi Tour; for the full, current results list see the official rider pages of specialist cycling statistics sites.
Renewi Tour 2025: the overall win
The 2025 edition delivered Arnaud De Lie his most important stage race success to date. He finished first in the general classification, ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (2nd) and Tim Wellens (3rd), a top three that underlines the level of the race. De Lie sealed his overall win with a stage victory in the final stage on 24 August 2025.
His success wasn't a coincidence: the Renewi Tour route combines flat stages for the fast men with a queen stage along notorious climbs such as the Muur van Geraardsbergen, exactly the terrain where De Lie sets himself apart from pure sprinters. More on the full stage schedule for the 2026 edition can be found on our route page.
His 2025 title makes him the obvious name to watch heading into the start on 19 August, although his participation in the 2026 edition had not been officially confirmed by the organisers or his team at the time of writing.
The climb record on the Muur van Geraardsbergen
During stage 3 of the Renewi Tour 2025 (Celles-Geraardsbergen, 23 August), Arnaud De Lie set a new climb record on the Muur van Geraardsbergen. He covered the official 1.10 kilometre cobbled stretch in 2 minutes and 34 seconds, an average speed of 25.7 km/h.
Mathieu van der Poel actually passed him on the climb itself, but because Van der Poel didn't record his own ride publicly, the official Strava segment record stands in De Lie's name. The moment underlines just how decisive the Muur can be for the queen stage: the climb normally sits shortly before the finish, making it decisive for the stage and sometimes the general classification.
Riding style: sprinter and classics specialist in one
What sets De Lie apart from most other fast men in the peloton is his ability to also perform on tougher, rolling terrain and cobbles. Analysts describe him as a powerhouse who still has an explosive sprint in his legs even after long, gruelling stages.
That versatility makes him a contender in selective classics and explains why he's in the mix for the win on both flat stages and a finish after a short, steep climb. The Renewi Tour route includes an opening stage through the Hageland, a sprinters' stage towards Ardooie, the queen stage with the Muur van Geraardsbergen, a stage through the Limburg marl country and a flat closing stage in Leuven, giving De Lie a role to play across several stage types, not just the classic sprint days.
2026 season: form heading into the Renewi Tour
The 2026 season has been mixed for De Lie so far. In June he won stage 4 of the Tour of Wallonia in Eupen after a strong sprint on a slightly uphill finish. In July, though, he had to abandon the Tour de France: he pulled out during stage 3 (6 July) after suffering for days with a stomach infection, having already struggled in the opening stages.
Such swings in form are normal over a long cycling season and say nothing definitive on their own about his level heading into August. His exact form and participation in the Renewi Tour 2026 will only become clear shortly before the start, at the official team presentation on 18 August in Diest. For the current start list, see our participants page.
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Competition for the 2026 title
As defending champion, De Lie isn't alone. Mathieu van der Poel, second in 2025, and Tim Wellens (third in that classification, and the race's record holder with four overall wins) remain the main names to watch. Both riders, like De Lie, combine speed with strong performances on short climbs, which makes the stage to Geraardsbergen and the finish in Leuven key moments.
On top of that, all 18 UCI WorldTeams and 4 ProTeams line up for the Renewi Tour 2026, ensuring a broad and deep start list. Anyone who wants to check the full team and rider list once it's confirmed can visit the participants page, or check the current offer straight away via the link below.