23 year old Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Belkin Procycling) is a GC rider of considerable potential. As co-leader of the Belkin team for the Giro d'Italia, alongside Steven Kruijswijk, Kelderman has the freedom to ride for himself throughout the race. In any other season Kelderman would be amongst the favourites for the young rider's classification. Unfortunately for Kelderman, the race favourite Nairo Quintana (Movistar) is only 24 and eligible for that competition as well, making it exceeding difficult for any other rider to win.
Kelderman made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia last season, finishing 17th overall as a 22 year old in his second season, a result made even more impressive by the fact that Kelderman was primarily riding as a domestique for Robert Gesink, before taking over the leader's role and riding for himself in the final week. He returns as a stronger rider with a protected role right from the start, and can call on the experience of his co-leader Kruijswijk throughout. Kruijswijk was 8th overall in 2011, and his presence eases any pressure there might have been on Kelderman to produce a strong GC performance.
To compete for the general classification a rider will generally have to be adept as both a climber and a time trialist, or truly outstanding in one discipline to compensate for a weakness in the other. While he has potential in both disciplines, at 6'1" Kelderman is a tall and powerful cyclist, so it was only natural that his time trialling talent developed faster than his climbing. He won the prologue of the 2.1 Tour de L'Ain in 2011, finishing ahead of well established time trialists Jan Barta and Jean-Christophe Peraud.
Kelderman turned professional the following season and made his mark as a neo-pro with 7th and 8th place finishes in the Tour of California and Criterium du Dauphine respectively, winning the young rider's classification in both. The Dauphine featured a rather flat 53.4km individual time trial in which Kelderman finished 4th, behind Bradley Wiggins, Tony Martin and Michael Rodgers, but ahead of many top time trialists such as Sylvain Chavanel, Chris Froome, Luke Durbridge, Cadel Evans and David Millar, a terrific performance. It was that talent against the clock that landed Kelderman his first stage race victory as a professional, in the 2013 Post Danmark Rundt.
Although he has yet to land any great results in 2014, Kelderman has definitely taken a step forward. At Paris-Nice he showed that he was willing to take the initiative and put himself forward as one of the main protagonists in the race. Winning the mini-sprint for 3rd, after a hard chase on stage four; being the first to launch for the line on stage seven (too early); and bridging over to Vincenzo Nibali as part of a dangerous move on stage eight. None of those brought Kelderman success, but they were indicative of a rider who is keen to seize the initiative, rather than ride conservatively to limit losses. To try and fail is also part of the learning process that leads a rider to eventual success, and Kelderman looks set to enjoy plenty of success in the future.
Belkin realise they have a terrific talent on their hands, so they are willing to give Kelderman the opportunity to grow into the role of Grand Tour contender in a relaxed manner. Kelderman will certainly hope to achieve a top ten finish, and sneak a stage win if the opportunity presents itself, but first and foremost he is here for the experience of being a leader in a Grand Tour, so that he can return in the future as a genuine contender.