"He is the perfect domestique" - Visma DS admits a sweet spot for one of his riders

Wilco Kelderman made the first steps in his career in Rabobank (now Visma | Lease a Bike) fifteen years ago, and although his greatest achievments came while wearing a different team colours, eventually the fate lead him back to the Dutch formation. It would be a perfect fairy tale if the circle would close with a Grand Tour stage win - something Kelderman's palmares still lack.

"That doesn't mean I lose sleep over it. I have a wife, two children and the best job there is," Kelderman tells De Volkskrant. "That makes me a happy person. Winning a competition won't change that at all. I really do have that ambition. There are still chances in the final week of this Giro. But I don't dream of it."

Visma DS Mathieu Heijboer sees that fun is central to Kelderman. "I have a soft spot for him, because he is a sweet boy. Maybe a little too sweet. His ego is completely absent. He does not have the will to win that you expect from a top athlete. With him, that is not a driving force."

Previously Keldermann has been tested as a GC leader at Team Sunweb. His results; 4th at the Vuelta a Espana 2017 and 3rd at the Giro d'Italia 2020 confirm that this career path was also a viable option for the Dutchman. But eventually, he found his role as a domestique for even greater GC contenders such as the two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard.

"He is the perfect domestique, previously for Jonas Vingegaard, now for Wout van Aert and Simon Yates," says Heijboer. And it's not only about his performances on the bike. The 34-year-old almost automatically took on a mentor role for young riders in Visma. "He does that fantastically, but of course we all want him to be in the spotlight for once."

Keldermann has four professional victories to his name, however not a single one at the WorldTour level. Heijboer is convinced that a big triumph has to come, sooner or later. "Statistically speaking, it has to happen at some point, you would think. That he is in second place and that the number one in the race takes the wrong turn," he laughs.