What can we expect from Wilco Kelderman in his 18th Grand Tour? "This Giro suits him in that sense"

On TV, the broadcasters naturally showed the most beautiful images of Albania, but the reality for the riders was quite different. From the motorway hotel in Tirana, they had to be on their guard on the roads in Albania, where traffic rules seem to be non-existent, and the law of the jungle prevails.

"No, I didn't expect to end up in Albania on my bike," Kelderman told us. "With all that busy traffic, we had to be careful. There's no cycling culture here, so we're mainly here for the tourist images. On the other hand, it's also nice to see something different for a change."

Kelderman had a good first few months of the year. The 34-year-old rider – who said at the Rabobank presentation in Utrecht that he does not want to leave Visma | Lease a Bike during his active career – has so far ridden the Tours of Algarve, Catalonia, and the Basque Country.

"Things are going well. Things were going pretty well on the tour of the Basque Country, but I felt that I was still missing something. After that, I went on altitude training and improved my performance a little bit, so I'm feeling good," said Kelderman, who is part of the five-man Dutch core of Visma | Lease a Bike in this Giro.

Steven Kruijswijk, Dylan van Baarle, Olav Kooij, and Bart Lemmen join Kelderman. "We have a powerful and experienced team here, and we started with ambition. I think it's a nice mix, with Olav, Simon Yates, and Wout van Aert as leaders."

This is already the climber's eighteenth grand tour. "It's becoming more and more normal to ride a grand tour," he says. "Of course, there's always a bit of tension, especially before the hectic first stages. But after so many grand tours, it's becoming more and more normal." He hasn't won a stage yet, but maybe this Giro will change that. "You can count me among the attackers; that's the plan. There are quite a few stages where we can get several men up front, so this Giro suits me in that sense."

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Kelderman can also be of service to Yates in the mountains. "He's super relaxed and very experienced in stage races. He knows what he has to do and is capable of, so that makes a big difference. You don't have to teach him much. I think at the beginning of the season, it was mainly a matter of fitting into the team and our way of working. Once you've done that, the rest comes naturally. Of course, Simon has only done two races for us," said Kelderman, who rode the Tour of Catalonia with Yates.

"He gained some experience there, and now the main goal is coming up. I expect him to do well," said the Dutchman, curious how far Yates can go. "There are several guys we must consider as top favorites, with Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso, for example. But I think Simon will be in contention for the podium behind them, and maybe he'll go even further." Kelderman is eleventh in the GC after three stages, one place and one second ahead of the British rider.