Ilan Van Wilder crashes out of Tour de France on mountain descent one day from Paris
Belgian had been sitting 12th overall but suffers early crash on stage 20
There was major disappointment for Ilan Van Wilder on the penultimate stage of the Tour de France, with the Belgian forced to abandon after crashing on the descent of the Col de la Croix de Fer.
Van Wilder was sitting 12th overall at the start of the day and while it was a very long shot to target a spot in the top 10, he now misses out on reaching Paris to finish his third Tour and to bring home some UCI points for Soudal-QuickStep.
Van Wilder's Tour came to an end on the descent of the Croix de Fer, the first of four big mountains on the stage 20 route.
The 26-year-old was able to get back to his feet following the fall, but he was unable to get back on his bike.
His Soudal-QuickStep team have yet to provide a medical update on his condition.
The Belgian team have had a solid GC finish taken away, but they have had a successful Tour de France, with three stage wins from their sprinter Tim Merlier, who already abandoned the race on stage 15.
Valentin Paret-Peintre is still in the battle for the polka-dot jersey on the final day in the mountains.
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Patrick is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) and a decade’s experience in digital sports media, largely within the world of cycling. He re-joined Cyclingnews as Deputy Editor in February 2026, having previously spent eight years on staff between 2015 and 2023. In between, he was Deputy Editor at GCN and spent 18 months working across the sports portfolio at Future before returning to the cycling press pack. Patrick works across Cyclingnews’ wide-ranging output, assisting the Editor in global content strategy, with a particular focus on shaping CN's news operation.
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