Vuelta a España - Wilco Kelderman: The others were simply better
Sep 10 2017 01:09 am CET
Photo of Wilco Kelderman © Team Sunweb
Wilco Kelderman dropped off the podium in the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España. Although disappointed, the rider is happy about his overall performance.
Kelderman couldn't keep up with his direct rivals on the last climb of the Spanish grand Tour, up the infamous Angliru, and ended up moving from third to fifth place in the overall standings.
"I could follow quite well until about 1,5 kilometers before the finish and then I exploded," the rider told Dutch broadcaster NOS. "It was done, and then it's a matter of fighting until the summit. Unfortunately I just missed out on the podium.
"It's a disappointment now, especially after being so close. But the others were simply a bit better, and that's that. You can't do much about it. In advance I definitely would have signed for this and I can be happy and satisfied. I have mixed feelings now but afterwards I'll be happy."
The Angliru was always going to be one of the toughest climbs of the race, if not the toughest, and Kelderman experienced that first-hand.
"It was terrible," he said. "I was using a 34-32 and at the end I wished I could have gone even lower than that. This can't even be called climbing."
Kelderman joined Team Sunweb at the start of this season and showed to have improved remarkably since doing so.
"I really needed it. I had nice years at LottoNL-Jumbo, good years too, but in the end I got too obsessed with the small details. It was good to change teams and start over. Just train well and take care of myself. That worked out really well.
"In the past I was too extreme in a lot of things and it had a negative effect. Now I have found the right balance. I feel strong and it's nice to reach the level I am supposed to be at. The future looks good and I'm happy to be back at the right level."
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