Arnaud De Lie will leave Lotto Intermarché at the end of the 2026 season, bringing to a close a six-year association with the Belgian team that took him from one of the country’s leading young prospects to an established WorldTour winner.
Lotto Intermarché confirmed De Lie’s impending departure on Monday morning, thanking the 24-year-old for his contribution to the team and highlighting the role its development structure played in his progression.
“Merci, Arnaud De Lie,” the team wrote.
“You joined us as a young rider with big dreams. You will leave having become one of the biggest names in the peloton.
“Belgian Champion, WorldTour winner, already 35 pro wins. We are proud to have witnessed your growth, and even prouder to have played a part in it.”
The announcement confirms that De Lie will race elsewhere from 2027. His next team has not yet been formally announced, although Tudor Pro Cycling has been strongly linked with the Belgian for several months.
Photo Credit: GettySix years of development with Lotto
De Lie’s relationship with Lotto goes back well beyond his emergence as one of the team’s headline WorldTour riders.
He developed through Lotto’s pathway before stepping into the professional ranks and quickly establishing himself as much more than a conventional bunch sprinter. His combination of outright speed, strength over short climbs and ability to keep racing when one-day events become attritional has made him particularly effective on the terrain between a pure sprint and a full Classics race.
That versatility was evident again ahead of the 2026 Tour de France, where De Lie was one of Lotto Intermarché’s principal stage-winning options.
“Your journey is a reflection of what development can achieve,” Lotto Intermarché said. “This is what #RisingTogether represents. This is what Lotto-Intermarché stands for.”
De Lie now leaves that development system with 35 professional victories to his name, a Belgian road race title and WorldTour success already on his palmarès.
Photo Credit: GettyDe Lie’s 2026 season has been far from straightforward
The announcement arrives during a season in which De Lie has repeatedly had to rebuild momentum.
His Tour de France began under a cloud after a stomach problem prevented him from completing the team’s final team time trial reconnaissance in Barcelona. His participation in the Tour briefly appeared uncertain, although he ultimately took the start.
The illness continued to affect him once the race was underway. De Lie eventually abandoned the Tour during Stage 3 after a difficult day in the mountains brought his race to a premature conclusion.
He has since returned to competition and finished 10th at the ADAC Cyclassics in Hamburg on Sunday, a race where his ability to handle a harder sprint had again placed him among the leading contenders before the start.
His next major objective now comes almost immediately.
One final Renewi Tour title defence with Lotto Intermarché
De Lie is scheduled to line up at the Renewi Tour beginning on Wednesday 19 August, where he returns as defending champion.
He won the 2025 edition after overturning Mathieu van der Poel’s advantage on the final stage in Leuven, making him one of the central riders in the 2026 Renewi Tour contenders picture.
The absence of a time trial this year should again suit a rider capable of collecting bonus seconds in sprints while remaining competitive on the race’s more selective stages. De Lie is therefore not simply making a farewell appearance. He has a realistic opportunity to add another major result before his Lotto career ends.
The full Renewi Tour 2026 start list confirms a deep field, but De Lie’s record in this race means he starts as one of the obvious reference points.
Lotto wants to finish the partnership with more victories
Despite confirming that their leading Belgian rider will move elsewhere, Lotto Intermarché made clear that his six-year spell with the organisation is not over yet.
“Before your next adventure begins in 2027, we look forward to add more achievements and end 6 years of #RisingTogether on a high,” the team wrote.
That leaves several months in which De Lie can still add to his 35 victories in Lotto colours.
It also gives his remaining programme an unusual dynamic. The team already knows it is losing one of its most recognisable riders, while De Lie knows that every remaining target is part of the closing chapter of the only professional organisation he has represented.
For Lotto Intermarché, his departure is significant beyond the simple loss of a race winner. De Lie has become one of the clearest examples of what the team’s development structure is designed to achieve: identify a young Belgian talent, move him through the pathway and develop him into a rider capable of winning at WorldTour level.
From 2027, the next stage of that career will take place elsewhere.
For now, however, De Lie still has races to win for Lotto Intermarché, beginning with a defence of his Renewi Tour title this week.
