"We’ll now see what happens on the two mountain stages" - Ilan Van Wilder into best young riders jersey at the UAE Tour

Ilan Van Wilder laid down an impressive individual time-trial on stage 2 of the 2024 UAE Tour on Tuesday. The Soudal - Quick-Step placed 6th on the day, moving him into the best young riders jersey.

“I tried to stay as aerodynamic as possible on this route, where the wind had quite the impact," reflected the 23-year-old Belgian in conversation with his team's official website. "We had some tailwind in the beginning, followed by some sidewind, and then four kilometers of full headwind, which made it difficult to keep the pace, but I managed it on these flat roads."

The time-trial is a discipline that Van Wilder has been working hard on recently as he attempts to stake his claim as a potential Grand Tour leader for Soudal - Quick-Step and immediate signs of progression were seen here as he finished just 17 seconds down on the stage winner, UAE Team Emirates' Brandon McNulty, moving sixth overall in the process.

"I improved in the discipline since joining the team and I am happy about my performance, especially as the gaps aren’t that big," Van Wilder concludes. "We’ll now see what happens on the two mountain stages, but I hope to do a good general classification.”