Paris-Nice

Riding the prestigious Paris-Nice for the second time in his career, Ilan Van Wilder put in a convincing ride on the hard stage four of the race, which scheduled the first uphill test of the week on La Loge des Gardes, back after two years.

It was a strange day, which forced the organisers to neutralize the stage due to the snow that made an appearance some 50 kilometers from the finish – leading to wet and dangerous roads in the downhill – and then resuming it with 28 kilometers to go. On the 6.7km climb whose steep gradients brought some changes to the general classification, Ilan Van Wilder rode strongly to remain with the small favourites group until the last three kilometers, when the big attacks began.

The Belgian didn’t panic and rode his own pace after being distanced, a smart tactic which allowed him to limit the losses and finish the day less than half a minute behind winner Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). This strong outing saw Ilan came home just outside the top ten and make a spectacular jump on the overall standings, where he now is 11th with four stages remaining.

“It was cold out there and quite strange with stopping and then restarting the race. On the last climb I just tried to do my best but I was a bit empty due to the cold temperatures. Overall, I think I did a pretty good ride and I hope to continue like this in the next days”, Ilan said at the finish.

Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images