This afternoon’s action at the Critérium du Dauphiné saw the peloton take on a very challenging 16 kilometre long time trial from Firminy to Roche-La-Molière, which featured several rolling ascents and roughly 300 metres of climbing; making for a hard 20 minute effort in the saddle.

Setting a good early tempo, Chad Haga crossed the line for a strong provisional third place with an effort of 22 minutes and 37 seconds, before other riders would go on to best his time. Marco Brenner and Martijn Tusveld also completed their efforts in very respectable times, both featuring in the top ten at one point during the stage upon crossing the line.

It would be last rider down the start ramp, Ilan Van Wilder, that would complete the hilly course in the best time for the team. Charging around the testing 16 kilometre long parcours, Van Wilder set a strong intermediate time before holding that pace all the way to the finish, stopping the clock in 21 minutes and 49 seconds to end the stage in a very strong fifth place. Van Wilder also holds onto the white jersey as best young rider for the team ahead of another day in the hills at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

“I had a good feeling in the time trial,” explained Van Wilder. “It was a nice course and was up and down, which made it hard for us to pace but we did well. I pushed on the climbs and tried to recover a bit more on the descents and get as aero as possible. In the end it was a nice result with fifth place and I’m happy with the feeling.”

Team DSM coach Wilbert Broekhuizen added: “Today was a really nice day. We once again showed some really good teamwork from both the riders and staff, and everyone was sharp out there for us. All of the guys warmed up well and were focused to do a good race today, with Chad and Martijn producing some nice results. Ilan had a few difficulties in the first corners but then came back really strongly, where he focused on good aerodynamics and held his position on the bike well. He managed to keep a high speed up and fought all the way to the line for a really nice result with fifth place for us. We can be really happy with that and the team performance in general today.”