De Lie Confirmed at Tudor Pro Cycling on Three-Year Deal for 2027
Arnaud De Lie will move to Tudor Pro Cycling from the start of the 2027 season on a three-year deal, both rider and team confirmed on Wednesday in one of the highest-profile sprinter signings of the transfer window. The 24-year-old Belgian leaves Lotto after five full seasons at the team that nurtured him from junior prospect to one of the most marketable fast finishers in the peloton.
The move had been rumoured for weeks but had grown increasingly certain through the spring as De Lie's relationship with the Lotto management cooled. Tudor, led by team principal Fabian Cancellara, have built their 2027 squad around an aggressive recruiting strategy aimed at securing WorldTour promotion, and the De Lie capture sits at the centre of that ambition. He arrives as the headline name in a recruiting class that the team hope will lift them into the top tier.
"Tudor was the only team that convinced me they had a plan that matched my ambitions," De Lie said in the team statement. "Fabian and the staff have built something special, and I want to be part of where it is going. I am grateful for everything Lotto have given me, but it is time for a new chapter."
The Belgian's palmares already includes more than thirty professional wins, headlined by his 2022 Tour de Wallonie GC victory, multiple Tour de France stage podiums, and a hugely impressive 2024 cobbled Classics campaign that suggested he could become a Monument contender as much as a pure sprinter. After a difficult 2025 spring in which a back injury limited him to a handful of starts, he returned to full form in early 2026 with three Belgian one-day victories.
For Tudor, De Lie will spearhead the Classics line-up alongside Marc Hirschi and Julian Alaphilippe, giving Cancellara a trident of riders capable of winning everything from Milan-San Remo to Paris-Roubaix. The team have also been linked with two further sprint signings to act as De Lie's lead-out train, with negotiations understood to be progressing for a top-tier German finisher and a Dutch leadout man.
Tudor's recruitment has been the standout story of the men's transfer market this year. The team announced a long-term deal with Michael Storer earlier in the spring and have continued to add depth across all racing categories. With the team now seen as a leading candidate for WorldTour promotion, the De Lie signing functions as both a sporting and a structural statement of intent.
For Lotto, the departure leaves a substantial hole. The team have spent the past two seasons positioning themselves around De Lie's calendar and lead-out, and his exit will force a significant tactical reset for 2027. Reports in Het Laatste Nieuws suggest the team have already opened talks with Milan Fretin and several younger Belgian prospects, but no replacement is yet close to confirmation.