Having come close to a stage win in stage 6, Wilco Kelderman asked his teammates to chase down the early break in yesterday's final stage of the Tour of Utah. Having initially been the fastest sprinter in the front group, he lamented the return from Cadel Evans who used a combination of speed and experience to relegate the Ducthman to second.

Wilco Kelderman closed the Tour of Utah on the attack for the Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM. Even if it appeared Tom Danielson (Garmin) had the classification win locked up, Kelderman accelerated and distanced his rivals for the stage victory on the final day in Park City. He nearly pulled it off, finishing second place to Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) and keeping his fifth place overall.

"It's a little bit of a pity that I didn't win," Kelderman said. "Every day, I'm getting a little bit better. Yesterday was good and today also, but we wanted to win. We rode for it the whole day."

Kelderman attacked on the Empire Pass before the short and sharp descent to Park City. He bridged to the group and rode free with Evans for company. Evans who won the stage yesterday, drove the group to the finish line.

"On the first climb, we began to race," Kelderman added. "On the last climb, the group was only 30 seconds away and the race started again. Chris Horner, Winner Anacona and Tom Danielson went, I quickly followed them at two kilometres to go from the top.

"I was in a good spot, I saved my energy for the sprint and I felt the strongest. My goal was to take that last corner first, but I didn't do so. I saw Evans coming and that was it. It was upsetting that he came back, but I couldn't do more."
 

Even without a win, Kelderman leaves Utah with his head held high. He was at the front, forced race moves and nearly won over the seven days. He placed fifth overall at 1.49 seconds behind Danielson. When the team was not racing for the overall, it turned to Moreno Hofland who won two sprint stages.

Team-mate Maarten Tjallingii helped fly the team's colours in the 125.5-kilometre stage on Sunday. He made the escape group early into the stage around Park City's mountainous countryside. He lasted until Empire Pass, where Kelderman took the reins to try to win a stage for the team before heading home and to the Vuelta a España.

"I'll leave Utah with a smile. The race was good, really hard and it's also at altitude, so helps your body get stronger. Great for the Vuelta," Kelderman said.