Reliable support for Evenepoel this July: "Since last year’s Tour, I’ve made another step forward"

Evenepoel and Van Wilder were born in 2000 and have known each other for years. They often rode with and against each other in the junior ranks before switching to the WorldTour in 2019 (Quick Step) and 2020 (DSM). After two seasons, Van Wilder joined the Belgian team, reuniting the two.

In his first year, Van Wilder immediately proved his worth, helping Evenepoel to victories in races such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour de Suisse, and the Vuelta a España. A year later, he made a name for himself by winning the Tre Valli Varesine and the Tour of Germany, among other races. Last season, both men competed in the Tour for the first time, with Evenepoel finishing third.

Van Wilder is back to support Evenepoel in the upcoming Tour de France. This is necessary because there are also a few problems with Mikel Landa (unable to ride due to a spinal fracture), Louis Vervaeke (uncertain due to a broken collarbone), Valentin Paret-Peintre (just back from a tailbone fracture), and Max Schachmann (not a great performance in the Dauphiné).

"It's not easy to have injured riders, but there's not much you can do about it," said Van Wilder. "It's a pity, but we must adapt and make the best possible selection. I think we still have good options, but again, there are some things you can't influence."

What Van Wilder can control is his own condition. And that's going well in the Tour de Suisse. "I feel good. The first day didn't go as planned. We lost a lot of time, but we weren't the only team that did. We didn't have anyone with us and didn't ride a good race, it has to be said. That made it a strange week."

The Belgian could keep up with the best on the climbs, which made him happy. “Joao Almeida is still the one to beat, but I can keep up with him, which gives me a positive feeling and motivation for what's to come.”

He is certainly riding a consistent season. In all his stage races up to June, Van Wilder finished in the top ten: seventh in the Algarve, tenth in Paris-Nice, and sixth in the Basque Country, all challenging races. “Since last year's Tour, I've been able to take another step forward. Mainly in terms of toughness: performing again and again and still being able to push through that wall despite having some bad days,” said Van Wilder, who proved that again on Thursday in the queen stage in Switzerland.

“In my opinion, that's where I've improved the most, which is also reflected in my results at WorldTour level,” he said, analyzing his performance. “I wasn't able to do that every time in recent years. Why is that? The Tour in my legs, getting older, more experienced... all those things together give me more substance.”