Having suffered from a mysterious ailment, Kristof Vandewalle is finally starting to feel like his former self. Today he proved his return to form when he led a dominant Trek showing in the Tour of Austria time trial that saw the team place 6 riders in the top 9.

Belgium time trial champion Kristof Vandewalle flew around the 24.10-kilometer time trial course, the penultimate stage at the Tour of Austria, and crossed the finish in a time of 27:50 (51.94 kph). He set a tough target to beat and only teammate Jesse Sergent would come closest to knocking Vandewalle from the hot seat, finishing within 15 seconds.

The overall contenders were the last to start and they never threatened Vandewalle’s or Sergent's times on the pancake flat and non-technical parcours, which suited the specialists against the clock. When the yellow jersey of Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky) crossed the line it was an official one-two for Trek Factory Racing. They would finish with six riders in the top 10.

The win was huge for Vandewalle who has been fighting to find his form back since the spring, battling an unknown weakness on the bike. After a week of hard racing he was able to pull off the time trial victory in stage seven, an indication he may have finally conquered his mysterious ailment. 

“I am obviously super happy with the result,"he said. "I was feeling good all week, and felt like I was back to my level after struggling with weakness. It has been frustrating to not know why, and we have been examining my blood levels for some time. But this whole week I have been progressing to the point that if I had not made it onto the podium today I would have been really disappointed. 

"The last two years I was third, then second last year behind Fabian [Cancellara], so I was really hoping to win. It was a TT that suited me well: pancake flat, straight lines, and the only factor the wind. It was just a matter of going full on. I did not have the best feeling during the TT, but I think that was just the wrong impression if you look at the times. I don’t know, maybe I was just a bit confused over my feelings, but in the end it’s the result that counts. Overall, I am very happy with this week.”

Peter Kennaugh would hold on to his overall lead, but the General Classification reshuffled behind him. Ricarrdo Zoidl made a big leap from ninth into fifth place. Zoidl, the defending champion of the tour, had a dismal start to the eight-day race and fell behind in the standings early on. Yesterday his redemption was a fourth place finish to move into ninth GC, and today he continued his upward swing by finishing in the top 10 and moving into fifth place overall.

“We were hoping for a good result but to have one, two, four and five was great," sports director Dirk Demol said. "Today’s TT was a goal for us from the beginning; we knew we could do well. The team showed they have grown over the week, stronger and stronger each day.

"Like I said before it’s a shame that Riccardo lost so much time the first days as he moved into fifth place today, and only two seconds from fourth. Okay, that’s how it is. The most important is that we have the win today.”

Jesse Sergent added a second place to his stage win two days ago. He was pleased with his result, but even more elated that the team pulled together to finish the Tour of Austrai much stronger than when they started. 

“I felt like I had a pretty good TT, an even ride, there were a few points where I was really on the rivet and that is a good sign to know that I did everything I could," he said. "A second place behind a teammate, what more can you ask for? I am really happy for Kristoff. 

"The effort I made the other day was in the back of my mind, but for time trials the plan is simply to go all-in. I asked this morning to not give me any time splits; at the end of the day it’s a time trial and you’re really just racing yourself.

"The start of the tour wasn’t as everyone had hoped, but we banded together as a team and got better and better. To finish on a high with two stages wins and Zoidl moving into 5th is a good feeling.”