”The period we have just experienced has not been easy, he admits with emotion. Many things have been said. There were criticisms that were painful. We have read a lot of comments from detractors, especially on social networks. Some are anonymous and know nothing about it. But even when we try not to pay too much attention to it, we know that it is possible that our son could fall on it. As a dad, this hurts. It’s almost worse than if you were attacked yourself.”
The criticism hurt him…and me too.
After Ghent-Wevelgem, Philippe De Lie admits it: his son was at the bottom of the hole. “I had never seen him like that. Since the start of his career, everything had gone well. And it wasn't even a question of winning or not: he thought he was bad. And that was difficult to take.”
But the Lyme disease verdict was experienced as evil for good. “The day it was diagnosed was the start of recovery. Pinpointing what was wrong was almost like being cured. I did a little research and Arnaud had all the symptoms of the disease: fatigue, neck pain and headaches.” Last week, Philippe De Lie himself found two ticks on him after being in a meadow near the family farm. “And some still say that there are only in summer…”
Words from the mother and letters from real supporters
After a week without a bike at the end of March, where Arnaud helped his dad on the farm between two hospital exams, the 22-year-old rider took care to get back into working order physically. “And especially mentallyadds his dad. Little by little, he became himself again. Thanks to the comforting words of his mother but also to the letters he received from real supporters. It did him good.”
Until the victory this Sunday. “Arnaud had the pressure of bib number 1 and the team played its card. The presence of Van Gils was a way of protecting him but he managed to impose himself. He knows he missed his spring but now it's in the past. We look forward. I looked at the UCI rankings this week (established over 52 weeks) and Arnaud is still 17th. It’s not so bad for a 22-year-old kid, whose track record is already very good.” And the best is certainly yet to come.
