He was a key domestique for Vingegaard in 2024, but Visma did not select him to 2025 Tour de France - "I also knew how tough it would be in this squad"

Wilco Kelderman is only 33 years old but he already has well over a decade of racing at the top level. With Team Visma | Lease a Bike he feels at home and managed to grow old with teammates such as Robert Gesink and Steven Kruijswijk. In 2024, he continued to show his very best level, but still that is not enough to be selected to the Tour de France this year.

"It’s been a long time since I raced in the Algarve. But it’s a great race to start the season. The weather is good, the hotels are nice, and we don’t have to travel too much. So it’s all good," Kelderman told In de Leiderstrui. "I’m feeling great. I had a fantastic winter, where I was able to train consistently and didn’t get sick or anything."

The Dutchman began his season in Portugal this time around, again together with Jonas VIngegaard as was also the case in 2024. Kelderman last year finished in the Top10 of Paris-Nice, the Tour de Suisse, and was then one of the Dane's most important domestiques in the Tour's mountain stages. Afterwards, he helped Vingegaard to win the Tour de Pologne whilst finishing third himself.

Kelderman continues to be a consistent climber who is often in the role of domestique, but is also able to perform for himself. In the Algarve, he worked towards the potential of Vingegaard and Wout van Aert but he struggled in the mountain stage to the Alto da Fóia where he wasn't able to help control the winning attack of the Jan Christen group.

"In the race, you really notice that you still need some race sharpness. Heading toward Alto de Foia, I felt like we could really put up a fight, but that turned out differently. Those accelerations, the ones you don’t quite do in training, you really feel the absence of those in a race."

"After the Algarve, I’ll go on an altitude training camp, then I’ll race in Catalunya and the Basque Country, followed by the Giro. The Giro is a big goal, but Catalunya and the Basque Country are also important for me. Jonas Vingegaard will be racing in Catalunya, but in the Basque Country, I’ll have a free role."

It's another mixed calendar with plenty important races where he will be an important part of the Dutch team, but ultimately he wished that he would be following the team towards the Tour de France.

"I told the team I would really like to ride the Tour, but I also knew how tough it would be in this squad," he accepts. "We have so many strong climbers, and a few of them are just a bit stronger. So I understood why they took someone else. The Giro is also a great opportunity."