An untimely crash spelled the end of the Belgian’s ambitions to finish in the top ten overall.
Ilan Van Wilder started the penultimate day of the UAE Tour in sixth place following a series of solid outings on the first mountain of the race and in the flat individual time trial. The Belgian, who was fourth here one year ago, was hoping to improve his result on Jebel Hafeet (10.8km, 5.6%), the last hurdle of the week, especially as the gaps to the ones in front of him weren’t that big.
Unfortunately for the 26-year-old, everything changed in a second. After a touch of wheels with around five kilometers to go, he crashed and lost contact with the main group, where he was comfortably sitting at that moment. Despite a great effort of Soudal Quick-Step teammate Junior Lecerf, who pulled hard to help him limit the damage, and a huge solo effort in the last kilometers of stage six, Ilan dropped a couple of places in the general classification, where he is 11th with one day to go.
The UAE Tour’s final stage will see the peloton arrive on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, where the sprinters are sure to get one more chance of going for the spoils.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
