Teams & Riders The official Wilco Kelderman is the new Merckx-thread

[Samu Cuenca]

Perhaps "Wilco Keldermann is the new Ullrich" would be more appropriate now. Or we could start calling him Wilco KelGermann.

 

[johnymax]

LOL,
Mods, can we have this thread's title edited please?

This is the original new Merckx thread, move along Remco. His thread should be edited to Remco is the new Wilco. It even rhimes.

 

[BlueRoads]

I've always liked these Dutch, ehm, German names ending on -co.

 

[johnymax]

I've always liked these Dutch, ehm, German names ending on -co.

Like Duško

Edit:
I mean Duschco, sorry.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I've always liked these Dutch, ehm, German names ending on -co.

Otco Waalkes is a comedy legend!

 

[glassmoon]

Crashed out of the Basque Country race...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

At the rate he keeps crashing and keeps injuring himself, last year's Giro could be haunting him for the rest of his life. He's never going to have a chance like that again.
Still wondering if or how much better he could have been without months/years of injuries that pulled him back.

 

[glassmoon]

At the rate he keeps crashing and keeps injuring himself, last year's Giro could be haunting him for the rest of his life. He's never going to have a chance like that again.
Still wondering if or how much better he could have been without months/years of injuries that pulled him back.

One could argue that part of being good/better is not to crash that much. Surely some crashes are just bad luck or someone else's fault but when you're crashing that much there has to be something yours's to it (positioning, handling, even fear or insecurity). Or maybe he doesn't crash much more than others statistically but has just bad luck with injuries/consequences.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

At the rate he keeps crashing and keeps injuring himself, last year's Giro could be haunting him for the rest of his life. He's never going to have a chance like that again.
Still wondering if or how much better he could have been without months/years of injuries that pulled him back.

so unlucky at well

Look at this season alone:

• Got hit by a car (and several of his teammates) at training
• Woods fell in front of him, which is why he fell, in basque country.

Wrong place/wrong time

 

[SafeBet]

At the rate he keeps crashing and keeps injuring himself, last year's Giro could be haunting him for the rest of his life. He's never going to have a chance like that again.

I don't think he can regret anything about that Giro though (apart from his interviews).
He rode to his limit. Hindley and TGH were simply better.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I don't think he can regret anything about that Giro though (apart from his interviews).
He rode to his limit. Hindley and TGH were simply better.

Maybe given the circumstances, he couldn't have done any better, but I still think a Kelderman in his best shape, could have sealed the deal. Or if he rode for a team that allowed ketones? I don't know.

One could argue that part of being good/better is not to crash that much. Surely some crashes are just bad luck or someone else's fault but when you're crashing that much there has to be something yours's to it (positioning, handling, even fear or insecurity). Or maybe he doesn't crash much more than others statistically but has just bad luck with injuries/consequences.

Did he have issues like this in his junior/espoir years? I can't remember anything that would indicate his run of accidents/injuries due to lack of bikehandling skills. I've been wondering if it could be related to lack of concentration?

But i also do think he simply gets injured easily. Obviously Evenepoel's last crash -falling off a bridge- resulted in a possibly career/life ending injury, but in his first year, he crashed about a dozen times, every time without injury. Once they pulled him out of the UAE tour to be safe, but he had no physical issues. Had this happened to Kelderman, you'd think he would have been in the hospital for 6 months accumulated. Isn't he nimble enough? Does he have the wrong or slow reflexes when falling?

At this point i just don't belief in "bad luck" anymore.

 

[Pinot's goat]

3 mins off the podium might sound a bit underwhelming however he was capable of going at least 2 mins faster across the ITTs if he did not have the elbow issue. So that would put him only 1 min down on Carapaz who is regularly on grand tour podiums, not bad.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

So 5th in GC..., but really this is just an invisible and pretty meaningless performance imo.

 

[Pinot's goat]

So 5th in GC..., but really this is just an invisible and pretty meaningless performance imo.

There are many other GC contenders in the race who fell out of contention whilst Kelderman did not, I feel this is often forgotten when looking at the performances of top 10 riders, he beat many riders who were also trying for GC.

 

[JosefK]

However a rider gets there, 5th place on GC at the TDF is a great achievement.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

So 5th in GC..., but really this is just an invisible and pretty meaningless performance imo.

Well, in Wilco's defence he fell 3 times this Tour de France and had a bruised elbow the entire TDF. Which seriously hampered him in the time trials. I think he did well considering.

Look how many leaders fell of their bikes and didn't perform.

I think people are super overly critical of Wilco because he is an unspectacular rider. His performances however are one of the most consistent of the entire World Tour peloton...
What was it again, 130 top 10's in WT races without a win now?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I rate this higher than last years Giro.

 

[SafeBet]

I rate this higher than last years Giro.

That's a bit of a stretch to me.
He is more than 10 minutes behind Pogacar and 3 minutes off the podium. And it's not like the other riders in the top10 are world beaters.
Considering the crashes this was a solid performance, but I wouldn't say it was better than last year's Giro. About the same level.

 

[Red Rick]

This makes top 5 in all Grand Tours with a podium in the Giro. Similar to Mollema, I think this is his absolute ceiling as a GC rider, and I would hope he focuses more on stage hunting in the future although in the case of Kelderman I really doubt it.

 

[BlueRoads]

Benelux-Sturz: Kelderman mit Beckenbruch und Rippenbrüchen | radsport-news.com

www.radsport-news.com

translation:
Wilco Kelderman suffered several fractures in his serious fall five kilometers from the finish of the 3rd stage of the Benelux Tour. A pelvic fracture and two broken ribs were diagnosed in the hospital. He also sustained a deep wound on his left arm. However, an operation is not necessary, as his team announced in the evening.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

How many broken bones in this guy's career so far?

 

[Red Rick]

How many broken bones in this guy's career so far?

His skeleton is more terminator than bone at this point.

 

[SafeBet]

Pelvic fracture is never good for a cyclist. I know he has come back from some nasty crashes so I'm hoping he can recover soon.

 

[glassmoon]

Pelvic fracture is never good for a cyclist. I know he has come back from some nasty crashes so I'm hoping he can recover soon.

just to crash again at some point... och... Wilco... I feel for you man... but I really hope you won't get a job in public transportation once you're done with crashing on bike
(of course I wish him speed and complete recovery)

 

[Red Rick]

I've been harsh on Kelderman in the past but really I'd love for him to have a decent season without major crashes. Innocent tumbles in sweet soft summer grass with no time loss still condoned.

Can't imagine keeping your job while this *** is happening to you every year.