"The Tour victory will not happen or it'll be very difficult" - Wilco Kelderman admits that taking down Tadej Pogacar will be nearly impossible in next two stages

It seemed like everything played into Visma | Lease a Bike's hands in Friday's mountain test. With their two best climing domestiques Matteo Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman up the road, ready to support Jonas Vingegaard's expect long-range attack. Frankly, the Dane didn't feel very well and thus Visma switched to plan B - winning the stage.

Kelderman tried to launch his American colleague into the last climb and, for a long time, it seemed that Jorgenson could actually make it. Until the man in yellow flied past and shattered the 25-year-old's dream. "I really had a great day today," Kelderman said afterwards at NOS. "For me it was a great day to ride forward, but it's a shame that we didn't win the stage. And that Jonas is a bit less. You know, I think it's great where he is and what he has achieved. It can't always be a party, so I'm super proud of him, of how he keeps fighting. But we would have preferred to win the stage here."

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The intention was that Kelderman and Jorgenson would assist Vingegaard in case he felt like attacking from a far. "That was the plan. Of course it went very well, but you have to have the legs. If you see where he comes from and that he had such a short period to prepare, then it is actually logical that you are not super this far into the Tour. We did everything we could and we have such a strong team that we can also switch during the race, to ultimately go for the stage win. That is also very nice."

There are still two more stages where differences can be made, however Kelderman does not expect Vingegaard to dethrone Pogacar under normal circumstances. "The Tour victory will not happen or will be very difficult. That is clear. The gap is so big. I think for now it is just fighting for the podium."

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On the final climb, Kelderman put himself at Jorgenson's service. "We spoke on the way and he was super good. I was also good, but I know that Matteo is normally a bit better. With Carapaz and Yates there, I know that it will be very difficult for me. So I did my best for Matteo to get everything out of it. I hoped that those four minutes would be enough, we rode very hard for it. It was really not normal. But when Pogacar is so strong, it is just difficult."

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