"I was very good in the difficult mountain stages, I was very happy with that" - Wilco Kelderman looks back at a 'good' Tour de France

In the end, Visma | Lease a Bike didn't manage to pull off a miracle and prevent the phenomenal Tadej Pogacar from winning his third Tour de France this year. Still, despite all the bad luck the Dutch team has been through this year, they still put up a good fight, with Jonas Vingegaard even winning one of the stages.

There was nothing to gain in the Nice time trial for Wilco Kelderman, who occupied 21st spot in the general classification. "I rode nice and easy, to enjoy myself a bit," Kelderman told NOS after the final time trial. "I suffered for two days, so I didn’t feel like going full throttle. It was quite a tough time trial, but it also depends on the mindset you start with. It didn’t have to be full throttle."

Kelderman believes that he rode a good Tour on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike despite a slightly improvised preparation. "I wasn’t planned for this Tour. I did have a good preparation and rode a good Tour," he continues. "I was in good shape and was able to be valuable. I was able to do my work on the flat and uphill. It’s a shame that we couldn’t be decisive like last year, but the shape was very good."

"I do get satisfaction from the final weekend. I was very good in the difficult mountain stages, I was very happy with that. The atmosphere was also very good, we never gave up and kept going for it," said Kelderman.