Winner Van Gils rode straight to Lotto-Dstny bus following time trial: "Might be at start tomorrow in France"

Maxim Van Gils impressively won the first (and only) stage of the Ruta del Sol on Friday. In a five-kilometer long, hilly time trial, the Lotto-Dstny puncher was by far the strongest, finishing ten seconds ahead of Juan Ayuso (UAE-Team Emirates) and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious).

Earlier, the Ruta del Sol organization had to announce that the stages on Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled, leading to a redesigned edition lasting three days. However, it became clear on Friday that the short time trial would mark both the beginning and the end of the race, as there was no police coverage in Andalusia over the weekend, due to farmers' protests.

"First and foremost, I didn't want to lose too much time in light of Saturday's stage. During the recon, I then learned that tomorrow's stage would also be cancelled, which was of course not pleasant news, but I was motivated to give it my all, and such a short uphill time trial suits me well," Van Gils explained via his team's official channels. "I immediately noticed that I had good legs, but I never expected to win."

Van Gils rode straight to Lotto-Dstny bus after time trial

"I also went straight to the bus, since I might start in the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes on Saturday," he said, referring to the two-day race in France. "Then I found out I had won and had to go to the podium, so that was great, it's still the Ruta del Sol. I felt good after the high-altitude camp in Teide, it's a pity the other stages were cancelled. This was actually comparable to a ten-minute test at camp, it's a good sign that I could win and it gives me confidence for the next races."