“I'm completely empty" - Ilan Van Wilder had nothing left after aiding Remco Evenepoel to Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory

Whilst Remco Evenepoel may have ridden to a brilliant solo win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, his Soudal - Quick-Step teammate Ilan Van Wilder completely emptied the tank to help set up Evenepoel's race-winning attack.

"We needed everyone in the team. I'm completely empty, that says enough," Van Wilder revealed in a post-race interview with Sporza.  “It was a difficult edition in which we were put under pressure early on. Everyone did their job more than 100%. That Remco finishes it, like last year, is fantastic. We can be very proud of that.”

After a disappointing season to date, Soudal - Quick-Step were in dire need of a big win and for the second straight year Remco Evenepoel delivered at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Pre-race favourite Tadej Pogacar crashed out early although Van Wilder doesn't believe it played much of a part in the overall result. "We stuck to the plan. That was very unfortunate for the race. I wish him well, but we tackled the course as we normally would."

"It was definitely the plan to turn it on there and we executed that," Van Wilder continues, referring to Evenepoel's attack on the Cote de la Redoute. "Liege was a main target and this proves that everyone is okay."