Silvan Dillier again underlined his great potential when he sprinted to third in the second stage of the Tour de Wallonie. The young Swiss was full of praise for Thor Hushovd who put his vast experience to good use as a lead-out man.

BMC Racing Team's Silvan Dillier finished third Sunday at the Tour de Wallonie and donned the "best young rider" jersey while teammate Sebastian Lander won "most aggressive rider" honors for his time in a breakaway. 

Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing) won the 193.1-kilometer race ahead of Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Dillier as Meersman took the overall lead from Stage 1 winner Jens Debusschere (Lotto Belisol).

"We tried to go full gas for the last corner at about 250 meters to go," Dillier said. "The whole team did a very good job. I had one of the best lead-out men – Thor Hushovd – who brought me in really good position for the last turn. From then on, it was full gas sprint.

"This is the first time I compete in the Tour de Wallonie. But I like riding in Belgium. There are beautiful hilly courses. Last year I won many races here as a youth rider. 

"With the presence of Sebastian Lander in the break, our team did absolutely not have to work. We wanted to do beautiful things in this race despite the absence of Philippe Gilbert who was our leader. "

Lander and Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) were the last two from an original four-man escape from the peloton. The pair held off the chase until just before the final intermediate sprint with 16 km to go.

"Unfortunately, we had a long flat piece after the last climb – around 30 km to go – so it was quite difficult to go to the end," Lander said. "But you always believe that it is possible. I tried to get to the last bonification sprint and get some seconds, but it was not possible. Otherwise, I felt good. I think we showed the team today and it was a great job by everybody."

With time bonuses gained along the way, Lander moved into fifth place overall, 10 seconds off the lead, while Dillier sits one second behind, in sixth. BMC Racing Team Sport Director Rik Verbrugghe said it was nice to see past world road champion Hushovd – who is racing in his final season – help Dillier garner his sixth top-five result.

"Thor did a very good lead out in the end to bring him in good position," Verbrugghe said. "I told Silvan before the start that if you have a guy like Thor who wants to do the lead out for you, you will see that he will bring you in good position. That was the case today."