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VN ticker: Ilan Van Wilder joins the early celebration club, Bauke Mollema to make opening weekend debut

velonews.com
·2 min read

This article originally appeared on Velo News

Jasper Philipsen passes on the early celebration baton to Ilan Van Wilder

Belgian racer Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) has joined some illustrious company this weekend after celebrating victory on stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve, only to be passed by Magnus Cort before the finish line.

It may have been a slightly embarrassing moment for the 22-year-old but he's not the only one to have done it in the last 12 months.

Fellow Belgian Jasper Philipsen did it at last year's Tour de France, not knowing that Wout van Aert had won with a big solo attack a short while earlier. Van Aert has been a victim to the early celebration when he was pipped to the line at the Criterium du Dauphine a month earlier by David Gaudu.

Between Philipsen and Van Aert, Alberto Bettiol briefly held the baton after celebrating a stage win at the Tour de Suisse, only to find out a few moments later that Andreas Leknessund of Team DSM had already taken the victory.

Van Wilder is certainly not the first to have celebrated early and he certainly won't be the last. At least he is in good company.

https://twitter.com/WoutvanAert/status/1626269614173831168?s=20

Bauke Mollema to make Omloop Het Nieuwsblad debut

Bauke Mollema will be a surprise entry on the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne start lists next week.

The Trek-Segafredo rider is going to line up at the two cobbled classics alongside classics stars Jasper Stuyven and Mads Pedersen after making the decision to try it out over the winter. It’ll be the first time in over a decade that Mollema has ridden one of the spring one-day races since he rode Brabantse Pijl 13 years ago.

“I am really looking forward to riding the Opening Weekend,” Mollema told the Dutch website WielerFlits. “At the beginning of the winter, I asked the team if I could ride Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. They just seem like nice races and I would like to try that.

“You are never too old to try something new. I watched last year’s Omloop final on YouTube. Next Thursday I will also explore the last hundred kilometers of that race.”

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