For young Belgian rider Ilan Van Wilder, compatriot Remco Evenpole plays many roles: colleague on the World Tour, familiar figure, occasional training partner, and inspiration for his progress in time trial. The two now also race together as Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl teammates. I don't really have any role models," Lemko said. But if you look at how Lemko raced in his junior years, he was a great TTer back then, and I was a strong TTer too. 'I once finished within a minute of Lemko in a time trial. I even finished second to Lemko in the Junior Europeans TT. So now to see him become a great TTer at the professional level is kind of inspiring."

Besides training together at the Quick Step camp this past January, Van Wilder occasionally crosses paths with Evenpole when he goes out to ride his bike in his hometown, as their homes in Belgium are only about 25 km apart.

"We almost always travel to other countries, so we don't often go training together," Van Wilder said, adding with a laugh, "We do that enough here in Spain."

Before Van Wilder arrived at Quick Step Alfa Vinyl in 2022, there was a turbulence that led to his departure from Team DSM. As a result, Van Wilder did not get the promised position at last summer's DSM Vuelta a España; a potential court battle to break his contract with DSM eventually led to an amicable agreement between the two teams, a dispute that was widely covered in the local media .

"From the moment everything was resolved, I was focused on a fresh start and completely ready to start a new chapter," Van Wilder told Cycling News. [Honestly, I'm very happy. As a Belgian, I feel very comfortable here and I have a lot of Flemish teammates. But it's not just Belgians, it's Italians, French, everyone else is friendly and warm. Nice environment. I feel welcome."

As for his goals for the 2022 season, Van Wilder definitely had the start of the Grand Tour on his mind after his non-selection for last year's Vuelta and his retirement from the first stage of that race in 2020 due to a knee injury.

But despite impressive top-five finishes in the time trials at the Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphiné, as well as the young leader's jersey, Van Wilder, after a roller-coaster 2021 season, has his sights set on 2022 Van Wilder was thinking as down-to-earth as possible about his goals for 2022.

"For me, a time trial is a time trial, and it doesn't matter if it's a stage race or a Grand Tour. I want to do well not only in the results but also in the way I do time trials. Last year I finished in the top five in several WorldTour races, so if I have good material, I want to be on the podium."

As of early January, when he spoke to Cycling News, Van Wilder was already testing the new Quick Step-Alfa vinyl equipment at the Valencia velodrome where he and his team were training. He certainly liked what he saw.

"We tried some new positions, did some bike fitting and metabolic testing," he said. I invested a lot of time and energy." Honestly, the equipment has improved a lot. To be honest, the equipment has improved a lot. The bike itself is crazy fast. Everything is the best it can be, it's just a matter of the legs. "

In any case, after two years on the WorldTour, Van Wilder knows that while Quick Step represents a new chapter in his career, he already has a lot of useful experience under his belt.

For example, at the 2021 Belgian National Championships, he finished fourth in the time trial behind new teammates Yves Lempert, Even Paul, and Victor Campanarts (Lotto Soudal), learning a frustrating but ultimately useful lesson. I did faster laps than Lampert and Lemko in the second half of the race. I didn't have enough experience. I underestimated myself. But now I know that I can start the TT with the gas pedal at full throttle and keep going."

In 2022, Van Wilder will compete in time trials. But without setting the bar too high, he intends to take on the ITT as well.

"I plan to start in Provence (February 10) and run the UAE Tour. But the TT in Provence is just a prologue and not my favorite race."

"The TT in the UAE is long and completely flat, so it's not for me.

And further into the season.

"I haven't seen the TT course at the World Championships. Maybe I will talk to the team coach later. Right now I want to find my level."

There is some talk of starting at the Giro d'Italia for a possible route to be run in Australia. But if Van Wilder underestimated his own strength last year, it could be their peril if his rivals do the same this year.