Wilco Kelderman appears Sunday with low expectations at the start of the Amstel Gold Race. On paper he should be one of the leaders of LottoNL-jumbo in the largest Dutch one-day race, but Kelderman is recovering from the flu. For that reason, he could not feature Wednesday in Brabantse Pijl, he came home almost three minutes after winner Ben Hermans.

Snivelling Kelderman reached the finish line of the race in 59th. "It is not ideal," he said in De Telegraaf about his physical condition. It does not seem feasible to be in top form for Sunday. "To be honest I did not expect that I'm good enough to ride a good race there. Hopefully I can make the next step, so that I may be able to play in the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège."

The team led by LottoNL Jumbo was particularly glad Kelderman could ride in the Brabantse Pijl. "Logically, he missed the really good legs to continue deep into finals with the best riders. That cannot be otherwise in a super tough sport like cycling. Fortunately he is healthy again," said Merijn Zeeman, DS.