Belkin will line up their Giro captains Wilco Kelderman and Steven Kruijswijk at Thursday's Rund um den Finanzplatz that will be the final test for the pair after having returned from a training camp on Tenerife. They will join five riders from the cobbled classics team and the squad plan to do an aggressive race in Frankfurt.

The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM sees Thursday’s German one-day race Frankfurt Finanzplatz as a kind of transition race, but that doesn’t mean that the team will start without ambitions. Sports Director Jan Boven believes it gives his riders a lot of opportunities. 

“The plan is that there is no plan,” said Boven. “We have five riders who will start racing again after the classics and some rest. With Marc Goos, Wilco Kelderman and Steven Kruijswijk, we have three men who are preparing for the Giro d'Italia. They’ve just returned from Tenerife, where they’ve trained at altitude.

"We start Thursday’s battle uninhibited and will see who is in good shape along the way. We’re ready to give our all. We see this as a transition race, with a lot of freedom and opportunities to ride an attacking and attractive race.” 

Kelderman has been able to put in long hours on the bike under good conditions on Tenerife.

“We trained well with a lot of hard work,” stated the youngster. “We’ve worked hard. The feeling during the last training sessions was good and the data from my Pioneer wattage meter showed that I’m strong as well. It gives me a lot of confidence in my preparation for the Giro.

"After altitude training, you always have some good days and some bad days. I hope I can build on my good feelings in Frankfurt. I’d really like to attack!” 

Kruijswijk also hopes to benefit from his Tenerife training camp during the Giro.

“I have been on altitude training camps before and have always benefited from them," said the 26-year-old. “We have been focusing on cycling for three weeks. It was pretty simple; train, eat and rest.

"I’ve done everything to be fit for the start of the Giro and I hope to get back to the level from before my surgery. I think I’m on the right way. In Frankfurt I want to work on my mileage and intensity.” 
 

Lars Boom, Jos van Emden, Marc Goos, Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, Tom Leezer, Maarten Tjallingii and Maarten Wynants.