After the warm-up in Sankt Wendel, many Belgians were motivated to show themselves in the Tour of Germany.
Harm Vanhoucke in front. Now wearing the Lotto – Dstny jersey again, he is determined to ride in the spotlight. With five companions he attacked, hoping to avoid a sprint.
And Vanhoucke was not the only one with that plan. Israel-Premier Tech – in function of Dylan Teuns – also made it a tough course, with success. Top favorite Mads Pedersen cracked, Pascal Ackerman couldn’t join either.
With two top sprinters overboard and the leading group caught at 41 kilometers, many GC men believed in their chance. On the Ellerberg, a 1.8 kilometer climb with an average of 6.2 percent, Ilan Van Wilder jumped away.
The leader of Soudal – Quick Step split the peloton: only Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) and Felix Grossschartner (UAE Emirates) could follow. But the 23-year-old Van Wilder did not give away his first professional victory. In a sprint with three he pulled the longest end.
Van Wilder will certainly not regret not staying in Spain with Remco Evenepoel. In addition to his first victory, he also takes over the leader’s jersey from teammate Ethan Vernon.
“My first victory is in”, Van Wilder beamed. “I was already very close this season in the Tour of the Algarve, but came second there. I was beaten at the finish line and that was a disappointment. bingo. Finally.”
Thanks to his stage victory, Van Wilder is also the new wearer of the red leader’s jersey. “We will certainly defend that shirt. Tomorrow another tough stage awaits me, but it should suit me. I have a small lead over my competitors and that is an advantage.”
“I came here to ride a good classification. It is surprising that I am now in the lead. We are here with a strong team and in the sprints we can always fall back on Ethan Vernon.”
