Name: Ilan Van Wilder Wins to Send Message on Merger: 'We Want to Continue as Soudal Quick-Step'
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Ilan Van Wilder Wins to Send Message on Merger: 'We Want to Continue as Soudal Quick-Step'

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Ilan Van Wilder roared to victory and didn't hold back after crossing the line.Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!Download the app.Ilan Van Wilder of Soudal Quick-Step let his pedals do the talking Tuesday to win the 102nd Tre Valli Varesine ahead of a superstar chase group that include Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič.And then he spoke his mind about the possible merger with Jumbo-Visma with some choice words.“I dedicate this victory to all my teammates,” Van Wilder said. “It’s been difficult weeks for us. So this victory is for my teammates and for the staff to show that we don’t agree with all this shit.”Reports of a possible merger between Soudal Quick-Step and Jumbo-Visma have clearly rattled nerves across the peloton.The long-running Belgian team and its “Wolfpack” ethos would close shop if the two team’s fuse. Speaking to reporters this week at different races in Italy, Soudal Quick-Step riders responded with a mix of resignation, uncertainty, and disbelief.Van Wilder’s finish-line reaction Tuesday was the strongest and most public so far about bubbling anger and frustration behind the scenes on the Belgian WorldTour squad.“We are strong enough ourselves,” Van Wilder said. “And we want to continue as Soudal Quick-Step.”Also read:The finish-line comments came Tuesday just hours after the UCI chimed in on its reading of the possible “mega merger.”The cycling governing body said all standing contracts with riders and staffers must be met, and that any WorldTour vacancy created by a merger would see second-tier ProTeam squad receive an extra invitation to the top races on the WorldTour calendar.There’s still been no official word from either team on the status or plans going into 2024. Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere confirmed over the weekend that a letter of intent has been signed by both teams, and that negotiations began before the start of the 2023 Tour de France.A deadline on October 19 is pressing matters as legal papers, bank guarantees, and other contracts must be filed with the UCI. Extensions are possible, but if something is going to happen for 2024, all parties need to move fast.Ilan Van Wilder won Tre Valli Varesine! 👏 Well-timed, powerful attack inside the last 10 km while the chasing group hesitated behind. Carapaz finishes 2nd while Vlasov wins the sprint for 3rd. Once again Pogacar couldn’t make the difference with his attack. #TreValliVaresine pic.twitter.com/88vkZg8IU2— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) October 3, 2023On Tuesday, Soudal Quick-Step got down to the business of racing their bikes.A day after Andrea Bagioli hit third behind Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in the Coppa Benocchi, Van Wilder pounced out of an elite group on the final climb the gap of the likes of Pogačar and Roglič.The Belgian, who won his first pro race this summer, nursed a 15-second lead in the closing 10km, but the chasers could not organize among themselves as none of the top riders had teammates to chase.“I actually just wanted to pick up the pace, but when I saw that I had a gap, I decided to keep going towards the finish,” Van Wilder said of his attack.“My sport director Davide Bramati went completely crazy in the support car. He told me I had to do a time trial to the finish,” he said. “And that’s what I did.”Team captain and superstar Remco Evenepoel will soon enter the fray as he will race in this weekend’s Il Lombardia.Andrew Hood, aka “EuroHoody,” is the European editor for Velo. Since joining the title in 2002, he’s been chasing bike races all over the world. He’s covered dozens editions of the spring classics and the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España, as well as numerous world championships in road, track, and mountain biking. He’s also covered five Olympic Games and traveled across six continents for bike races. Beyond the Outside cycling network, his work has appeared in…Soudal Quick-Step Riders, Staffers Lament Possible Closure of the ‘Wolfpack’Andrew HoodAnalysis: Fallout of ‘Mega Merger’ Would Rattle Across Entire WorldTourAndrew HoodWout van Aert back to Winning Ways with Victory at Coppa BernocchiAndrew Hood‘Catastrophic Consequences’: Shock and Dismay in Peloton at Rumored Jumbo-Visma/Quick-Step MergerJim CottonWhat’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France? Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view.

Ilan Van Wilder roared to victory and didn't hold back after crossing the line.Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!Download the app.Ilan Van Wilder of Soudal Quick-Step let his pedals do the talking Tuesday to win the 102nd Tre Valli Varesine ahead of a superstar chase group that include Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič.And then he spoke his mind about the possible merger with Jumbo-Visma with some choice words.“I dedicate this victory to all my teammates,” Van Wilder said. “It’s been difficult weeks for us. So this victory...

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Ilan Van Wilder Wins to Send Message on Merger: 'We Want to Continue as Soudal Quick-Step'

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