Belgian racks up his eighth top ten of the season.
Sant Feliu de Guixols, a small town lying on the Mediterranean coast not far from Girona, one of the hottest cycling destinations in the world, welcomed again the peloton of the Volta a Catalunya for the opening stage of the 103rd edition.
The profile of this 174km journey was a hilly one, comprising numerous climbs of which three were classified. The last was Alt de San Grau, averaging 3.5% over 7.2 kilometers, crested by the bunch with 20 kilometers to go. On the fast descent that followed, Mauri Vansevenant accelerated and tried to get away only for the others to react and shut down this audacious move, keeping things together.
Going into the final kilometer, a series of tricky corners awaited just before the ramp to the line, and it was there that Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech) took off and soloed to victory. Soudal Quick-Step’s Ilan Van Wilder came home together with the main group, taking a solid seventh – a good result for the Belgian ahead of Vallter 2000, the first of the week’s three summit finishes.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
Ilan Van Wilder 