Wilco Kelderman got close to his first grand tour stage win when he finished third in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana. The result came as a surprise as he had not had his best legs.

Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM was in the thick of the action in Friday's action-packed 13th stage at the Vuelta a España. Stef Clement rode into the day's main breakaway, and Wilco Kelderman dashed to third in the 188.7km stage from Belorado to Obregón.

Kelderman said he wasn't feeling great during the stage featuring moderate climbs, but he managed to kick to his best result so far in the 69th Vuelta with third behind stage winner Dani Navarro (Cofidis).

"I picked a right moment to attack, I attacked full from the back of the group. It was OK," said Kelderman, who moved up to 13th overall. "The guys did a good job today. I did not have a really good day. I didn't feel so good on the climbs. In the end, I motivated myself, and my teammates helped me. I tried to stay with Robert, and then I could attack in the end. So it turned out good."
 

Belkin's Clement rode into a 13-rider breakaway that was eventually reeled in as the main pack roared toward the finish in the mountains near the Cantabrian Coast along northern Spain.

"Before the race, Wilco was asking if he could attack in the final. And Wilco went third," said Belkin Sport Director Erik Dekker. "It was a team effort today. We expected the big battle in the first hour of the race. It was the first attack at kilometre zero that went, but the first attack was the right one. Stef was there. OK, the break didn't manage to make it to the finish, but Stef did get to the top of the last big climb, so he could support our two big leaders."
 

Robert Gesink crossed the line eighth, safely with the main GC rivals to remain ninth overall at 2:55 behind race leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo).

"It was a pretty hard stage today. We thought it would be a stage for a breakaway, but some teams wanted a sprint, so that made it hectic in the final. I went full-gas in the final," Gesink said. "The next few days will be full-gas racing. I am trying to look day by day. If you start skipping days in your head, they will always be more difficult than you want. Tomorrow will be really hard."

Belkin's Paul Martens said the team is ready to support Gesink and Kelderman in Saturday's 14th stage from Santander to Sabero, ending with a steep summit finale.

"The next days will be very hard, and they will be decisive in GC," Martens said. "It's now up to Robert and Wilco, and we will support them. Maybe Laurens ten Dam will have a chance in a breakaway. We will see."