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

[Angliru]

Compares himself to Wiggins and Evans? Seems a little premature imo.

In riding style and attributes, obviously not in accomplishments.

 

[Angliru]

He may be more of a Cancellara type rider. Way too early to talk about "GC" and "Evans" and "Wiggins," IMO.

He doesn't have the results to back it up. Top 15 in an easier Tour de l'Ain than last year's edition. He's decent in the hills, but let's see what he does in a "proper" mountain stage.

Folks are really overreacting to an innocent statement.

 

[Panda Claws]

He's new the new Axel allright.

 

[theyoungest]

Folks are really overreacting to an innocent statement.

+1. Ridiculous.

 

[Spine Concept]

I didn't say or imply that. It's is a good result, but it doesn't suggest he's an Evans type of rider. But apparently he only "thinks" he's that kind of rider, so I'm not allowed to comment on it. Makes sense.

Lol. No, you are allowed to do anything you wish. However, when you are overstating what a zealous neo-pro said in some interview you can expect to be called on it. A good climber with a great time trial in his legs whilst in his espoir years is allowed to aspire being like Wiggins or Evans. He has the ambition to be like such riders, there's nothing wrong or premature about that. Stop inaccurately paraphrasing the guy just for him to be criticized later for things he ''claimed in an interview''. He never said he was the next Evans or Wiggins, just that he thinks he falls into that type category. Even he doesn't know his own limits yet, this is his first year as a pro for heaven's sake. In football every talent with great agility and dribbling skills falls into the ''Messi or Ronaldo'' type category and aspire to be like them. That doesn't mean they expect to be as good or achieve as much as the aforementioned. Everyone knows that only time will tell.

Folks are really overreacting to an innocent statement.

+1. Ridiculous.

Tell me about it.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Lol. No, you are allowed to do anything you wish. However, when you are overstating what a zealous neo-pro said in some interview you can expect to be called on it. A good climber with a great time trial in his legs whilst in his espoir years is allowed to aspire being like Wiggins or Evans. He has the ambition to be like such riders, there's nothing wrong or premature about that. Stop inaccurately paraphrasing the guy just for him to be criticized later for things he ''claimed in an interview''. He never said he was the next Evans or Wiggins, just that he thinks he falls into that type category. Even he doesn't know his own limits yet, this is his first year as a pro for heaven's sake. In football every talent with great agility and dribbling skills falls into the ''Messi or Ronaldo'' type category and aspire to be like them. That doesn't mean they expect to be as good or achieve as much as the aforementioned. Everyone knows that only time will tell.





Tell me about it.

You'd have a point if he didn't talk about future GC ambitions in Grand Tours (LOL) before. The guy can dream big all he wants, but he should probably keep it to himself at this point.

 

[theyoungest]

You'd have a point if he didn't talk about future GC ambitions in Grand Tours (LOL) before. The guy can dream big all he wants, but he should probably keep it to himself at this point.

Q: What type of rider do you think you are?

A: I think I know, but I'm not allowed to tell, by some absurdly pessimistic Cyclingnews forum member.

 

[Kvinto]

Poor Wilco, he should have known he's just a new Merckx, how dare he compare himself to Evans in any shape It's inappropriate nowadays, especially for a Dutchman

 

[Spine Concept]

You'd have a point if he didn't talk about future GC ambitions in Grand Tours (LOL) before. The guy can dream big all he wants, but he should probably keep it to himself at this point.

Are you talking about his 8 word statement at the beginning of his interview? ''I see myself as a GC rider''. Is that what all the fuss is about? Really? Again, in his espoir years he was regarded as a good climber and a great time trialist. What is so far-fetched about that statement? It's a quite logical train of thought if you ask me. He has shown promise in both climbing and time trialing, doesn't that translate into potentially doing well in GT's? This is getting tedious now. It would seem you are grasping at straws here. First, he cannot say what type of rider he thinks he will be and now he cannot say in what type of races he sees himself faring well in? SMH.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Q: What type of rider do you think you are?

A: I think I know, but I'm not allowed to tell, by some absurdly pessimistic Cyclingnews forum member.

He doesn't climb well enough relative to his TTing...... at this moment.

I guess you have to be "absurdly pessimistic" to point out that some riders don't seem to have a firm grasp on reality. He's allowed to tell, though. Just like Tony Martin and Stijn Devolder were.

 

[Spine Concept]

He doesn't climb well enough relative to his TTing...... at this moment.

I guess you have to be "absurdly pessimistic" to point out that some riders don't seem to have a firm grasp on reality. He's allowed to tell, though. Just like Tony Martin and Stijn Devolder were.

It would seem that your grasp on reality is not as firm as you might think it is either. Reality is that he's been a good climber and a great time trialist during his espoir years. Reality is that with those facts one can realistically project a potential future in GT's. Again, I don't see the problem with that train of thought, but apparently you do, in your own version of ''reality''. Of course it is not a given, seeing as only experience will determine if his recovery is fast enough to do a good GT. However, he says himself that the high mountain passes are his field. Thus, this combination of abilities easily translates into a possible future in GC ambitions. Aside from that, he's only 20 years old, which means that he has a lot of room to grow and can only get better in each department as he grows stronger and gains experience. You say he's allowed to tell, and yet that has been your main point of criticism.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

It would seem that your grasp on reality is not as firm as you might think it is either. Reality is that he's been a good climber and a great time trialist during his espoir years. Reality is that with those facts one can realistically project a potential future in GT's. Again, I don't see the problem with that train of thought, but apparently you do, in your own version of ''reality''. Of course it is not a given, seeing as only experience will determine if his recovery is fast enough to do a good GT. However, he says himself that the high mountain passes are his field. Thus, this combination of abilities easily translates into a possible future in GC ambitions. Aside from that, he's only 20 years old, which means that he has a lot of room to grow and can only get better in each department as he grows stronger and gains experience. You say he's allowed to tell, and yet that has been your main point of criticism.

No, I just think it's very unwise to only talk about Grand Tour GCs when you are asked about your possible future as a rider. He did so in another interview, in case you ask again. That's what I meant by "before" i.e.: at an earlier time. He can say what he wants, though. There is no contradiction.

To call him a good climber in the under-23 competition is overstating things a bit, IMO. If you ignore 2011 he still got owned in the three hardest stages of the 2010 Tour de l'Avenir. Yes, he was very young then, but he wasn't the only one. Overall, his climbing was on par with MICHAEL MATTHEWS who is about the same age as him. They're like 6 months apart. Is Matthews a future GT contender, too? Funny, I never hear anyone talk about him in that way.

As it is, there's a very substantial gap between Kelderman's level as a time trialist on a flat course (he got owned in the mountain TT, too) and his level as a climber.

Then why would it be illogical or "cynical" to think he'll develop into another kind of rider? There's always a small chance he'll become a GT specialist, but his past results do not point in that direction, IMO.

People will invariably disagree, and interpret his results in a different way.

He says himself that he feels as though the high mountain passes are his field.

Okay, I'll just take his word for it then.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

It's still premature. Like it says in the article, it's not known what kind of rider he'll turn into. He seems convinced he'll turn into an Evans type of rider, but that may just be wishful thinking on his part.

or maybe he knows more about his own abilities then some hack article writer, and us forum members? Nothing premature about a rider being confident in what type of rider he would be, I'd be worried if he had no idea actually.

He may be more of a Cancellara type rider. Way too early to talk about "GC" and "Evans" and "Wiggins," IMO.

He doesn't have the results to back it up. Top 15 in an easier Tour de l'Ain than last year's edition. He's decent in the hills, but let's see what he does in a "proper" mountain stage.

again he didn't say that he is gonna reach thier level, but that is the type of rider he believes he will come.

No, he thinks he already IS the same type of rider. Not nearly as good, obviously, but that's not what I meant. I know he realizes that. He's a prologue specialist and a good TTer, but is only okay-ish as a climber. So not really the same type of rider as Evans, Wiggins and Coppel, IMO.



- the youngest

He won on the Ballon, but not by much (0 seconds in fact), but against what competition, though? Only Jeandesboz deserves a mention and he didn't do much that year.

As for the Tour de l'Ain........ it wasn't as hard as last year because they didn't finish on the Colombier. Obviously they didn't race it as hard.

he has shown glimses of good climbing, in the espoirs (more then guys like wiggo btw). what exactly is he meant to have shown to compare himself to the pros at this stage? Not like wiggo was blowing people away on climbs at the espoirs From his own experience he has summed up the type of rider he suspects he will be.

Folks are really overreacting to an innocent statement.

agreed.

@valve
@2010 Tour de l'Avenir.

lot of sprinter, hard riding guys do well at this race historically, but yes he was young.

He doesn't climb well enough relative to his TTing...... at this moment.

I guess you have to be "absurdly pessimistic" to point out that some riders don't seem to have a firm grasp on reality. He's allowed to tell, though. Just like Tony Martin and Stijn Devolder were.

Again, was wiggo climbing well at 20? was evans?

--

But you say he doesn't know what type of rider he will be etc. Whilst true, not entirely; likely if he has an idea of the type of rider he wants to be, he will focus his training and body weight etc on this sort of thing. So your theory or concept that it is gonna be some totally random development is false.

 

[Nilsson]

A 20-year old who puts out 7 w/kg in the max test (the best of Rabobank in this years preparation) must have at least some ability to climb, and has every right to believe he can turn into a certain type of rider.

Give the guy a break to develop himself, and hopefully become a rider we can enjoy...

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

A 20-year old who puts out 7 w/kg in the max test (the best of Rabobank in this years preparation) must have at least some ability to climb, and has every right to believe he can turn into a certain type of rider.

Give the guy a break to develop himself, and hopefully become a rider we can enjoy...

don't hold me on this but didn't dennis do better then this last year?

but yeah it is an indication to some degree.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Kelderman put out 6.7 w/kg, slightly better than Kruijswijk and the same level as Gesink on his 2012 test (ofcourse Gesink had done 7w/kg previously, but now returning from a broken leg).

Marc Goos was the one scoring 7 w/kg (mind you, gonna hear a lot from that dude)

 

[blaxland]

Kelderman put out 6.7 w/kg, slightly better than Kruijswijk and the same level as Gesink on his 2012 test (ofcourse Gesink had done 7w/kg previously, but now returning from a broken leg).

Marc Goos was the one scoring 7 w/kg (mind you, gonna hear a lot from that dude)

Marc Goos???wwhat type of rider is he?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He won the Vuelta a Leon last year. In front of a certain Tiernan-Locke. Maybe you know him?

 

[blaxland]

He won the Vuelta a Leon last year. In front of a certain Tiernan-Locke. Maybe you know him?

Ok...He is on my rader now...Thnx.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Ya goos looks the goods.

I also like daan olivier.

 

[Spine Concept]

He still manages to miss the point. Quite remarkable really. Oh well. Everyone is wrong and you are right, in your ''reality'' of course. You know Wilco better than himself and better than the trainers that work with him on a regular basis.
It's all really a simple concept in my opinion. A guy climbs well - except you make it sound like he cannot climb at all - and time trials really well in his espoir years. A future in GT's is one of the things that comes to mind. For Wilco, who is only 20, this prospect is even more endearing. Thus, he expressed his wish and what type of rider he sees himself as in the future. Simple. Whether or not this wish turns out to be true or not remains to be seen of course. As I said before, just like in football, every talent with great agility and dribbling skills aspires to be like Messi and many express themselves accordingly. It's a boy's dream/wish/hope, what is so wrong with expressing that? I really don't get it. Everyone, including himself knows that nothing is a given until proven. Which is why you are the only one on this forum making a big deal out of this. Coincidence? Highly doubtful. Anyway, people will always see what they want to see.

I just hope he can stay on his bike more than during his espoir years, he constantly had a broken something whenever I looked him up. He might have missed some good chances like last year, he couldn't ride l'avenir because he had broken something. That was his main target that season too. I felt like he was going to have his best l'avenir yet but, alas, it was not to be. I just hope he's not another Gesink in that department.

 

[theyoungest]

Kelderman put out 6.7 w/kg, slightly better than Kruijswijk and the same level as Gesink on his 2012 test (ofcourse Gesink had done 7w/kg previously, but now returning from a broken leg).

Marc Goos was the one scoring 7 w/kg (mind you, gonna hear a lot from that dude)

Kelderman did 7 w/kg this year. The 6.7 is from when he was 18/19 years old.

But who cares, recovery and efficiency are far more important than that number.

 

[Spine Concept]

Kelderman did 7 w/kg this year. The 6.7 is from when he was 18/19 years old.

But who cares, recovery and efficiency are far more important than that number.

Exactly. That remains to be seen from Wilco.

 

[Bavarianrider]

How tall is he? How much does he weigh?

 

[theyoungest]

How tall is he? How much does he weigh?

1.85 m, 64 kg (according to the Rabo website).