Wilco Kelderman again put his great form on show when he attacked late in today's stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné and took back 9 second on overall leader Chris Froome. The youngster says that his move proves that it is possible to attack Tour de France favourites Froome and Alberto Contador but keeps his feet firmly on the ground ahead of the tough final weekend.

Wilco Kelderman closed in on race leader Chris Froome (Sky) today during stage five of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Dutch Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider is still third overall after the 184-kilometre ride from Sisteron to La Mure, but now has the same time as Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff), second in the general classification. Froome has a lead of 12 seconds on the duo. 

Kelderman attacked in the closing kilometres of the stage together with Adam Yates of Orica-Green Edge. The two were unable to catch up Katusha’s Simon Spilak, who won the day, but still Kelderman managed to second place and Yates third. 

“Why should I always follow? That way I’ll never win,” said Kelderman, while he was preparing to go on the podium as best young rider for the fourth day in a row. 

“If the peloton would have hesitated, Yates and I could’ve easily taken ten extra seconds.” 

Sports Director, Merijn Zeeman relished the racing his pupil demonstrated.

“This is his style and it’s one to enjoy, just wonderful,” said Zeeman. “He saw a chance and went for it. That’s exactly how we want to race as a team. Normally, it’s great if you can follow the best riders in the world, but Wilco is in the shape of his life and is even able to attack them.” 

Kelderman and Zeeman remain focused.

“Things are going my way, but that doesn’t mean anything,” said Kelderman. “Today wasn’t difficult enough, it wasn’t an uphill finish. Every day is different. I expect the other guys to be better in the tough final few days than they were last weekend.

“At the end of the day, it's an excellent stage for me. But sometimes it's been very difficult too. When Team Sky accelerated to chase Contador down, it was hard to keep up. In the downhills, it was very tense too.

"In the finale, everyone was riding strongly but I've seen Adam Yates attacking so I followed him and we kept a bit of an advantage. It means it's possible to attack Froome and Contador, providing that a situation is favourable.

"I'm not sure if it'll be the case again by the end of the week and if I can hope for a better result than where I stand now. If I manage to stay there, it'll be beautiful. Had I been told before the Dauphiné that I'd be in the same second as Contador, I would have signed up for it.”

“Tomorrow will be difficult again,” Zeeman added. “The final is treacherous. It could go either way. The sprinters will be optimistic about their chances, but the overall riders should really pay attention.”