A mechanical dashed Wilco Kelderman's hopes of a top result in Paris-Nice but the Dutchman refuses to go down without a fight. Yesterday he launched a strong attack in the uphill sprint in the penultimate stage and he will give it another go in today's final leg.

Wilco Kelderman came out swinging a day after a mishap cost him a chance for the podium at Paris-Nice, riding to 14th to lead Belkin Pro Cycling Team in a demanding, 195.5km seventh stage. Kelderman tried in vain to surprise the leaders with a late surge in the final stretch, and slotted into 16th overall at 1:05 back with one day of racing to go. 

"Lars-Petter Nordhaug, someone came into his wheel, and he was gone, so it was up to Wilco to make the sprint," said Belkin Sports Director Merijn Zeeman. "He attacked with 500 metres to go, but he ran out of steam with 150 metres to go, but it was a good effort. He found the morale to race hard after what happened Friday."

Kelderman is determined to finish off Paris-Nice in the best possible manner despite losing GC options when he was forced to change his front wheel after clipping wheels with another rider at the base of the decisive climb in Friday's stage.

"It was frustrating what happened, but I have to forget it about now, and try to take something out of this race," Kelderman said before the start Saturday. "The form is good. There are still some opportunities to win a stage or move up on the overall standings."

Saturday's mountainous stage ended on a technically challenging finishing circuit, and Belkin decided to wait until the late action.

"It was hard day with a lot of climbing. The breakaway went away fast, but we could see it was not strong enough to stay away, so we decided to wait and make it hard for the final circuits," Zeeman said. "It was a big fight and a hard race like we wanted it. Wilco did a great job to stay with the leaders, and then he had enough to attack."

The 72nd Paris-Nice concludes Sunday with a short, but intense 128km stage featuring five hard climbs in the mountains above Nice.

"Tomorrow will be too hard for Moreno [Hofland], so it will be a big fight between the GC favorites," Zeeman said. "Wilco will have another try tomorrow. Depending on what happens, maybe we can move up on GC and have another chance at victory. We want to finish off what's been a great week on the best manner possible."

You can read our preview of the final stage here. You can follow our live coverage of the stage at 15.15 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.