"Maybe I could have raced in Norway like Wout van Aert" - Wilco Kelderman didn't want to rush his return to peloton after injury in March
Cycling
Wilco Kelderman showed once again on Saturday in Villars-sur-Ollon that he will be ready for Tour de France. In case his team Visma | Lease a Bike selects the Dutchman for the Grande Boucle. Kelderman was fourth fastest on the climb, which was just enough to see him return to the overall top 10 ahead of final stage of Tour de Suisse.
Kelderman was out of competition for a while after a nasty crash in the final stage of Paris-Nice at the beginning of March. "It was a nasty broken collarbone, right at the end of the bone," he told In de Leiderstrui during Tour de Suisse. The injury ruled Kelderman out of Giro d'Italia, where he was due to share leadership with younger teammate Cian Uijtdebroeks.
But according to the 33-year-old, his gradual return to full workload went smoothly. "I was able to train again after a few weeks, but I couldn't really train properly immediately. So we took time before return to competition," Kelderman said.
Thus he was already fit to return to the peloton by the end of May. However the Dutchman didn't want to rush things. "It was a long period. Maybe I could have raced in Norway like Wout van Aert, but I chose to do an altitude camp with the group and then start here. Things went well at altitude, I was able to do everything with that."
Things also went well in Switzerland. Kelderman finished eleventh in the prologue and, with some good results in the punchy stages, maneuvered himself into a good position in the mountains, where he again holds his own. "It's going well. The form is there, but of course I haven't been in competition for a long time. That took some getting used to, especially because this is a tough race with many mountain stages in a row."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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🇨🇭 #tourdesuisse2024 Solid performance. 🐝🏔️
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