Giro d'Italia

For the first time since 2018, the Giro d’Italia concluded in the shadow of the Colosseum, the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, almost 2000 years ago during the reigns of emperors Vespasian and Titus. For once, the riders had the chance to admire the magnificent construction that dominates the center of Rome, as the peloton took it rather easy on the first laps of this final stage, before speeding it up for the last kilometers, when the sprinters’ teams emerged at the front.

In a chaotic finale complicated by the cobblestones, it was Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) who took the victory, while Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) sealed the overall win at this 106th edition. Both Ilan Van Wilder and Pieter Serry came home part of the bunch, and the former wrapped up 12th place on the general classification, a remarkable result for the 23-year-old who came at the start to support World Champion Remco Evenepoel, but changed his plans after his countryman’s exit.

From that moment on, Van Wilder began to gradually move up the standings and in the space of just ten days, he jumped a massive seventeen places in the rankings – a confirmation of his potential, fighting spirit and determination: “We came with big expectations in this Giro, we had two stage wins, the maglia rosa, but we got a big slap in the face when we lost Remco, and as if this wasn’t enough, we continued to lose riders to illness. But even when we carried on in two, we gave our best and we can be proud of ourselves that we made it to Rome. Personally, I am content with my place in the standings, especially as it wasn’t my target three weeks ago.”

“We had a perfect first part of the Giro, but everything changed before and during the second week of the race. It wasn’t easy, but our guys continued to fight and show character. We did good considering all the conditions, Ilan finished up there in the general classification and gained a lot of valuable experience for the future, so we leave with his strong result in the bag, as well as two victories and four pink jerseys, which isn’t bad considering everything”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Davide Bramati about our team, one of the only six squads with multiple stage wins at this edition of the Corsa Rosa.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images