The climbs proved to be too tough for Moreno Hofland in the second stage of the Tour of Utah which saw the Dutch sprinter lose the overall lead. The result came as no surprise for Belkin who are now focused on more stage wins with their fast rider and the GC with Wilco Kelderman.

Wilco Kelderman successfully passed the first overall test in the Tour of Utah. The Dutchman of Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM finished safely in the peloton in ninth behind solo winner Michael Schär.

“It was a difficult and long stage,” said Wilco Kelderman. “The purpose was to lose as little time as possible today. With Schär and Jens Voigt in the front it was getting tricky. They’ve ridden the Tour de France and are in a good shape. Eventually, thanks to efforts by other teams, we still got close. I felt pretty good.”
 

“My main goal here is to test myself for the Vuelta,” Kelderman added. “This remains a preparation race, but I’ll definitely try for the overall. I also hope to get close to a stage win, that would be nice.”

Kelderman had time to enjoy the American landscape on Tuesday.

“Today was super nice. I looked around several times, and with all those beautifully coloured rocks, it sometimes seemed as if we were racing through the Grand Canyon. I really enjoyed it.”
 

Dutchman Moreno Hofland triumphed in Monday’s opening stage and began today’s 210-kilometre stage from Panguitch to Torrey in the yellow jersey. The jersey now hangs on the shoulders of SmartStop’s Jure Kocjan and Kelderman sits 12th overall.

Sports Director Erik Dekker, “The leader’s jersey gave us some responsibility, which we took, but it was a no-go for our sprint train.”

Hofland expected that the stage would be too heavy for him and said that he wanted to save himself for Wednesday’s likely bunch sprint.

“That’s what I expect tomorrow,” said Dekker. “We’ll need to tackle a climb but that’s no real threat for Moreno.”