Wilco Kelderman had ridden flawlessly at Paris-Nice and was well-positioned at the bottom of the final steep climb in Fayence when it all got ruined by a broken front wheel. The Belkin rider dropped out of contention for the overall win but showed impressive strength to reduce his deficit to just 41 seconds.

Wilco Kelderman of Belkin Pro Cycling Team suffered bad luck Friday in the decisive sixth stage at Paris-Nice, and tumbled out of contention for overall victory. The 22-year-old clipped wheels with another rider at the base of the 2km hilltop finish in the 221.5km stage ending in Fayence, and was forced to change his front wheel at the worse possible moment.

"I was getting squeezed between riders and someone came into my front wheel. The spokes were broken, and it was at the base of the climb," Kelderman said. "That ruined my whole Paris-Nice right there."

Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM did a great job protecting Kelderman in the mountainous stage across southern France, and positioned him perfectly with the leaders at the foot of the decisive climb.

"Someone rode into his wheel, suddenly he was gone. We stopped and waited for him," Belkin rider Lars-Petter Nordhaug said. "There were some splits in the downhill, and we closed the gap with the front group, and everything was perfect with two kilometres to go to the climb. Then suddenly he was gone."

After a quick wheel change, Kelderman quickly remounted his bike, but with such a short climb so close to the finish, it was impossible to regain contact with the attacking leaders.

He crossed the line 34th at 41 seconds behind stage-winner and new race leader Carlos Betancur, and slipped from eighth to 21st at 1:01 back.

"The fact that he only lost 41 seconds on the stage after coming to a complete stop that close to the finish on a hill that steep just shows how strong he is, and it also makes the disappointment even worse," said Belkin Sports Director Merijn Zeeman. "The spokes were broken and it was impossible to carry on. We made a very fast wheel change, but it happened at the worse possible moment for Wilco. It was very unlucky today."

Zeeman said Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM will continue fighting in Paris-Nice despite the setback Friday.

"The way the guys raced today shows just how good we are racing here all week. The boys did a great job to protect Wilco all day, and it was a very hard and difficult stage. They rode so well," Zeeman said. "Now we have two days left, and we will continue working like that. We won't lose our morale because of this. Sometimes this is part of cycling, too, we have to keep fighting."

Zeeman said Belkin will devise a plan overnight to animate the 195.5km seventh stage from Mougins to Biot Sophia Antipolis. 

You can read our preview of stage 7 here and follow our live coverage at 14.25 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.