The Belgian hit the ground in the last kilometer, but got back on his bike and finished the stage.
Ilan Van Wilder was on his way to another top 10 finish at this week’s World Tour race when a rider touched his bike and brought him down in the closing 200 meters of Wednesday’s 198.8km stage to Bielsko-Biala.
Luckily, the 23-year-old got up, and despite having suffered abrasions to his left elbow, hip and knee, he concluded the hilly stage five and was given the winner’s time, as the three-kilometer rule was applied to this stage. Before this chaotic finale, the day had been animated for almost four hours by a five-man breakaway which included another Soudal Quick-Step rider, Bert Van Lerberghe, who remained on the front until the local circuit.
This means that despite the incident in which he was involved, Van Wilder retained his top 10 place on the general classification, where only a couple of seconds separate him from the podium with a 16.6km test against the clock the only opportunity left for the general classification contenders to gain time.
Ilan will continue to be monitored by the team’s medical staff and should start Thursday’s stage.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
