The 23-year-old Belgian was extremely active in an action-packed finale.
Ilan Van Wilder made it three top ten finishes in four days at the Challenge Mallorca, concluding fifth in Saturday’s Trofeo Pollença – Port d’Andratx, which took in 3000 vertical meters and five classified climbs after a flat opening loop around the start town in the first hour of racing.
After both Mattia Cattaneo and Yves Lampaert tried their luck on the short hills that peppered the last 60 kilometers of the day, it came down to Ilan Van Wilder to try something, the Belgian putting in a strong attack that ended up taking a couple of riders with him. The group had a good chemistry behind the lone leader of the race who was enjoying a half a minute advantage at that moment, gradually clawing back time and making the catch just in time for the final kilometer.
The huge effort he put in the entire day took its toll on Ilan, who ran out of steam in the reduced sprint, but despite this, the 23-year-old still had some energy left to take another top five in Spain from that select group, a result he talked about at the finish: “It was another hard race, and our team did its best. We tried multiple times to go on the attack, and in the end I could join a good move that stayed off the front. I missed a bit in the sprint after what was a hard day of racing, but nevertheless, I am content with my form in these first weeks of the season.”
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
Ilan Van Wilder 
