Wilco Kelderman lacked the strength to play a key role in the Tour de Romandie’s queen stage on Saturday in Switzerland. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s leader was in trouble already on the first of the three tough climbs and eased off. Chris Froome (Team Sky) won the stage.

“It wasn’t for us today,” Sports Director Frans Maassen said. “We saw it already after 80 kilometres. Martijn Keizer and Wilco Kelderman had to leave a small gap on the first climb and everything became clear afterwards. Wilco let them go and that was the best decision when you’re looking at tomorrow’s stage.”

Maassen sees opportunities for the breakaway in the final stage of the Swiss race. “The riders climb 1800 metres, so it’s going to be a tough challenge for the sprinters to survive that. It’s going to be an important day for us, and we want to show ourselves. We will give our final judgement afterwards.”