Even uphill, Kelderman can't escape a crash, Visma | Lease a Bike pleased with response: "Made up a lot of time"

Wilco Kelderman is spared very little in his cycling career. The 33-year-old Dutch rider from Visma | Lease a Bike has had his share of falls over the years, and Wednesday's fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland was no exception. Uphill, Isaac del Toro caught the wheel of a UAE teammate, and Kelderman subsequently had nowhere to go. Del Toro and Kelderman finished 1 minute and 13 seconds behind Adam Yates.

Kelderman had been riding attentively during the first few days in Switzerland. He finished eleventh in the ultra-short prologue, was alert on day two, and punched to a sixth-place finish in the third stage. Everyone was curious about his performance in the first uphill finish. Due to the delay, however, it's still unclear just how well Kelderman is currently performing.

Uijtdebroeks saw Kelderman put up a fight

At Visma | Lease a Bike, the focus is on Kelderman and Del Toro's response after the crash in a press release. The pair managed to overtake many competitors en route to the finish, placing eleventh and twelfth. They were just two spots and nine seconds behind a larger group, including Cian Uijtdebroeks. "I actually felt pretty good today. It was my first long effort since dropping out of the Giro d’Italia. I can feel my body getting stronger every day. Unfortunately, I lacked the explosiveness when Yates and later Skjelmose made their moves," the Belgian himself commented.

"Despite losing some time, the overall gaps aren’t too big," Uijtdebroeks remains optimistic for the upcoming mountain stages. "We'll attempt to climb the rankings in the next few days. It was tough seeing Wilco lose contact with the lead group like that. He fought hard and managed to recover a lot of time. We’re both not in bad positions, so we definitely have a chance to impact the race in the days ahead. The differences are still manageable."