The Belgian produced a solid ride in his first race since the Ardennes Classics.
For the first time in its long history, the Tour de Suisse got underway from Italy. It was a demanding day in the saddle, with an elevation gain of 2500 meters, the kind of terrain where it wasn’t easy for the peloton to control things, as shown by the way things panned out.
The race exploded with more than 70 kilometers to go, just as the man who had animated up until that point was about to get caught by a select peloton featuring both Mikel Landa - racing here for just the second time in his career - and Ilan Van Wilder. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) attacked on an uphill section and opened a gap which he only kept increasing until the finish in Sondrio, where he took the win and the yellow jersey.
Behind, the already depleted bunch fragmented, and Ilan Van Wilder made sure of being on the right side of this split, part of a small four-man group which came home a couple of minutes later. Soudal Quick-Step’s 26-year-old Belgian had something left in the legs at the end of this arduous stage to sprint to fourth place, a result that puts him in a good position for a strong GC going into the next stages.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
