Tour of Utah: Kelderman preparing for first Vuelta a España appearance
Belkin rider looking for a good result in America before second grand tour ꦫof 2014
Belkin got off to a good start Monday at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, controlling the first stage throughout the day and setting up 22-year-old 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Moreno Hofland 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:for the win in his first ra𓂃ce since crashing out of the Tour o𝔍f California in May.
But the team's hopes for the overall rest on the shoulders of another young rider, 23-year-old 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Wilco Kelderman, who finished 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:seventh overall in the Gir༺o d'Italia in May. Kelderman has been resting since June and is gearing up for his first run at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Vuelta a España later this month.
The Dutch rider has a history of riding well in August, having won the 2.HC Tour of Denmark about this time last year, but he told Cyclingnews 🌠on Monday after stage 1 that he's not sure how his legs will react to t📖he racing in Utah.
"We already spent two-and-a-half-weeks here, so normally it should be good," he said. "But of course the Vuelta is going to be the big goal. This is a really hard stage race, so I hope to be good in th♈e hard stages. We trained not really hard, but really long. Normally I need some race rhythm, so we'll see in the hard stages how good I am. Hopefully I'm good enough to win."
Kelderman previously raced the 2012 edition of the Utah tour, finishing 18th overall and fourth in the competition for best young rider. The rising Dutch star said he is familiar with two of the iconic climbs in the race, the ascent to Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort during the Queen Stage on the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:penultimate day, and the Empire Pass climb during the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:final stage.
This year's summit finish on Powder Mountain during stage 4 will be a new challenge, but Kelderman said the harder the race is, the better it will be for his overall chanc🍎es, and it will also provide better training for the 🤪Vuelta.
"It's a hard race, and it's good preparati🔯on for the Vuelta﷽," he said. "It's also at altitude, so it's really good for us."
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Belkin and the team hope Kelderman can parlay t💫he training in Utah into a top performance at the Vuelta, as 2013 winner Chris Horner (Lampre-Merida) did last yജear.
"I hope to be for sure in the top 10 [at the Vuelta]," Kelderman sai💯d. "And ma𓄧ybe I will go for a stage win or something."
Growing up in Missoula, Montana, Pat competed in h♕is first bike race in 1985 at Flathead Lake. He studied English and journalism at the University of Oregon and has covered North American cycling extensively since 2009, as well as racing and teams in Europe and South America. Pat currently lives in the US outside of Portland, Oregon, with his im💝aginary dog Rusty.