The 26-year-old is in contention for what would be his first top ten overall of the season.
The penultimate stage of the race - the only one against the clock at this edition - took a massive importance this year, especially as it was scheduled ahead of the sole mountain top finish of the week. Held over a 23.7km mostly flat course tailored to the specialists of the discipline, the individual time trial was an important opportunity for the general classification contenders to gain time or retain their position in the standings.
Last Soudal Quick-Step rider to roll down the ramp, Ilan Van Wilder put together a solid display in what was his fourth ITT of the season and stopped the clock in 27:27, making him the highest-ranked member of our team in Aarburg. Ilan, who averaged 51.78km/h, maintained his seventh place in the ranking going into the mountainous stage five.
Another Soudal Quick-Step rider, Louis Vervaeke, enjoyed his first day as leader of the climbers standings. The experienced Belgian has a slim lead, but we’ll try to fight for the green jersey in Villars-sur-Ollon.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
