Van Wilder in white at the UAE Tour

Race report | Tuesday 20 February 2024 - 15:50

The Belgian is Soudal Quick-Step’s best placed rider in the standings thanks to a solid performance on a course that was more tailored to the true specialists.

Ilan Van Wilder, who started his third season in the team’s colours last month with some strong outings and a pair of top five finishes at the Challenge Mallorca, was amongst the early starters, but despite this disadvantage and the strong headwind on the second part of the 12.1km course, he put together a nice time trial, which saw him conclude in sixth place, just 17 seconds behind winner Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates).

That result meant a massive leap in the general classification for the 23-year-old Van Wilder ahead of the week’s first summit finish, Jebel Jais, where more significant gaps should appear between the contenders, leading to another reshuffle of the ranking.

“I tried to stay as aerodynamic as possible on this route, where the wind had quite the impact. We had some tailwind in the beginning, followed by some sidewind, and then four kilometers of full headwind, which made it difficult to keep the pace, but I managed it on these flat roads. I improved in the discipline since joining the team and I am happy about my performance, especially as the gaps aren’t that big. We’ll now see what happens on the two mountain stages, but I hope to do a good general classification”, said Ilan, who sits sixth overall.

 

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images

Race details

1 Brandon McNulty
UAE Team Emirates
13:27
2 Jay Vine
UAE Team Emirates
0:02
3 Mikkel Bjerg
UAE Team Emirates
0:04
4 Tobias Foss
INEOS Grenadiers
0:14
5 Rainer Kepplinger
Bahrain - Victorious
0:16
6 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
0:17
7 Johan Price-Pejtersen
Bahrain - Victorious
0:19
8 Pello Bilbao López de Armentia
Bahrain - Victorious
0:19
9 Bruno Armirail
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
0:20
10 Iván Romeo Abad
Movistar Team
0:21
52 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
0:57
77 Jan Hirt
Soudal Quick-Step
1:12
97 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
1:25
101 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
1:27
104 Ayco Bastiaens
Soudal Quick-Step
1:29
110 Jordi Warlop
Soudal Quick-Step
1:33

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